
Glass 
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In His Image 



By 

William Jennings Bryan 

hi His Image. 

James Sprunt Lectures. l2mo, cloth . . . . iPl.75 

Heart to Heart Appeals. 

i2mo, cloth 51*25 

The cream of Mr. Bryants public utterances on 
Prohibition, Money, Imperialism, Trusts, Labor, In- 
come Tax, Peace, Religion, Pan-Americanism, etc. 

The Prmce of Peace. 

i2rao, boards 6oc. 

Messages for the Times. 

i2mo, boards, each 35c. 

The First Commandment, 
In simple, unaffected language, the author en- 
larges upon the present-day breaches of the First 
Commandment. 

The Message from Bethlehem, 
A plea for the world-wide adoption of the spirit 
of the Angels' song — ** Good-will to Men." The 
context and import of this great principle has 
never been more understandingly set forth. 

The Royal Art. 

A lucid exposition of Mr. Bryan's views concern- 
ing the aims and ideals of righteous government. 

The Making of a Man. 

A faithful tracing of the main lines to be followed 

if the crown of manhood is to be attained. 

The Fruits of the Tree. 

" Either for the reinvigoration of faith or for the 
dissipation of doubt, this little volume is sl docu- 
ment of power." — Continent, 



/ 



In His Image 



By 
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN / 



" So God created man in his own image ^ in the 
image of God created he him.^^ — Gen. i : 27, 




New York Chicago 

Fleming H. Revell Company 
London anp Edinburgh 



Oe^kx/M o> 



Copyright, 1922, by 
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 



/ 






3d 



Printed in the United States of America 



MAR 11 '22'' 



New York : 1 58 Fifth Avenue 
Chicago : 1 7 North Wabash Ave. 
London: 21 Paternoster Squarw 
Edinburgh : 75 Princes Street 

Q)C!.A654889 ^ ) 



Dedicated to the memory of my 
beloved parents 

SILAS LILLARD BRYAN 

and 

MARIAH ELIZABETH BR TAN 

to whom I am indebted for a Christian 
environment in youths during which they 
instilled into my mind and imprinted 
upon my heart the religious principles 
which I have set forth and applied in 
the lectures contained in this volume 



THE JAMES SPRUNT LECTURES 

IN nineteen hundred and eleven, Mr. James Sprunt 
of Wilmington, North Carolina, by a gift to the 
Trustees of Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, 
established a lectureship in the Seminary for the pur- 
pose of enabling the institution to secure from time to 
time the services of distinguished men as special lectur- 
ers on subjects connected with various departments of 
Christian thought and Christian work. The lecturers 
are chosen by the Faculty and a committee of the Board 
of Trustees, and the lectures are published after their 
delivery in accordance with a contract between the 
lecturer and these representatives of the institution. 
The lecturers up to the present have been : 

Rev. David James Burrell, D. D., LL. D, 
Sir William M. Ramsay, D. D., LL, D. 
Rev. Prof. James Stalker, D. D. 
Rev. a. F. Schauffler, D. D. 
Rev. Harris E. Kirk, D. D, 
Prof. C. Alphonso Smith, Ph. D., LL. D. 
Rev. a. H. McKinney, D. D. 
Rev. G. Campbell Morgan, D. D. 
Rev. Prof. J. Gresham Machen, D. D. 
Hon. William Jennings Bryan. 
The tenth scries is presented in this volume. 

W. W. MOORE, 

Fresidint 



Preface 

THE invitation extended me by President 
Moore on behalf of Union Theological 
Seminary provided the opportunity for the 
presentation of an argument I had had in mind for 
years — an argument to the heart and mind of the 
average man, especially to the young. This purpose 
originated in two desires, one of which is to repay the 
debt of gratitude that I owe to my revered parents for 
having brought into my life the Christian principles 
upon which their own lives were builded. My ap- 
preciation of the importance of this early training has 
grown with the years. As those who brought me into 
the world, cared for me so tenderly during my early 
years and so conscientiously guarded and guided me 
during the formative period of my life, have passed to 
their reward, I know of no way in which this apprecia- 
tion can be effectively expressed, except by transmit- 
ting these principles to others. 

The second desire is to aid those who are passing 
from youth to maturity and grappling with problems 
incident to this critical age. Having spent eight years 
away from home, in academy, college and law 
school, I have reason to know the conflicts through 
which each individual has to pass, especially those who 
have the experience incident to college life. I never 

7 



8 PEEFACE 

can be thankful enough for the fact that I became a 
member of the Church before I left home and there- 
fore had the benefit of the Church, the Sunday School 
and Christian friends during these trying days. 

In these lectures I have had in mind two thoughts, 
first, the confirming of the faith of men and women, 
especially the young, in a Creator, all-powerful, all- 
wise, and all-loving, in a Bible, as the very Word 
of a Living God and in Christ as Son of Qod and 
Saviour of the world ; second, the applying of the prin- 
ciples of our religion to every problem in life. My 
purpose is to prove, not only the fact of God, but the 
need of God, the fact of the Bible and the need of the 
Bible, and the fact of Christ and the need of a Saviour. 

Therefore, I have chosen " In His Image " as the 
title of this series of lectures, because, in my judgment, 
all depends upon our conception of our place in God's 
plan. The Bible tells us that God made us in His 
image and placed us here to carry out a divine decree. 
He gave us the Scriptures as an authoritative guide and 
He gave us His Son to reveal the Father, to redeem 
man from sin and to furnish in His life and teachings 
an inspiring example by the following of which, man 
may grow in grace and In the knowledge of God. 

" Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of 
my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my 
strength, and my redeemer/* 

W. J. B. 

Miami, Fla, 





Contents 




I. 


" In the Beginning — God " 


II 


II. 


The Bible 


34 


III. 


What Think Ye of Christ ? . . . 


60 


IV. 


The Origin of Man . 


. 86 


V. 


The Larger Life 


, 136 


VI. 


The Value of the Soul . 


. 163 


VII. 


Three Priceless Gifts . 


. 194 


VIII. 


" His Government and Peace " 


220 


IX. 


The Spoken Word .... 


, 248 



i€ 



I 

IN THE BEGINNING—GOD" 



RELIGION is the relation between man and 
his Maker — ^the most important relationship 
into which man enters. Most of the relation- 
ships of life are voluntary ; we enter into them or not 
as we please. Such, for illustration, are those between 
business partners, between stockholders in a corpora- 
tion, between friends and between husband and wife. 
Some relationships, on the other hand, are involun- 
tary ; we enter into them because we must. Such, for 
illustration, are those between man and his govern- 
ment, between man and society, and between man and 
his Maker. 

Tolstoy declares that morality is but the outward 
manifestation of religion. If this be true, as I believe 
it is, then religion is the most practical thing in life 
and the thought of God the greatest thought that can 
enter the human mind or heart. Tolstoy also delivers a 
severe rebuke to what he calls the "Cultured crowd"— 
those who think that religion, while good enough for 
the ignorant (to hold in check and restrain them), is 
not needed when one reaches a certain stage of in- 
tellectual development. His reply is that religion is 
not superstition and does not rest upon a vague fear 
of the unseen forces of nature, but does rest upon 
** man's consciousness of his finiteness amid an in^ 

II 



12 ^^IN THE BEGINNING— GOD 



?? 



finite universe and of his sinfulness." This conscious- 
ness, Tolstoy adds, man can never outgrow. 

Evidence of the existence of an Infinite Being is to 
be found in the Bible, in the facts of human conscious- 
ness, and in the physical universe. Dr. Charles Hodge 
sets forth as follows the principal arguments used to 
maintain the existence of a God : 

I. The a priori argument which seeks to demonstrate 
the being of a God from certain first principles involved 
in the essential laws of himian intelligence. 

II. The cosmological argument, or that one which 
proceeds after the posteriori fashion, from the present 
existence of the world as an effect, to the necessary ex- 
istence of some ultimate and eternal first cause. 

III. The teleological argument, or that argument 
which, from the evidence of design in the creation, seeks 
to establish the fact that the great self-existent first cause 
of all things is an intelligent and voluntary personal 
spirit. 

IV. The moral argument, or that argument which, 
from a consideration of the phenomena of conscience in 
the human heart, seeks to establish the fact that the self- 
existent Creator is also the righteous moral Governor of 
the world. This argument includes the consideration of 
the universal feeling of dependence common to all men, 
which together with conscience constitutes the religious 
sentiment. 

V. The historical argument, which involves : ( i ) The 
evident providential presence of God in the history of the 
human race. (2) The evidence afforded by history that 
the human race is not eternal, and therefore not an in- 
finite succession of individuals, but created. (3) The 
universal consent of all men to the fact of His existence. 

VI. The Scriptural argument, which includes: (i) 
The miracles and prophecies recorded in Scripture, and 
confirmed by testimony, proving the existence of a God. 
(2) The Bible itself, self -evidently a work of superhuman 



'' m THE BEGINNING— GOD '' 13 

wisdom. (3) Revelation, developing and enlightening 
conscience, and relieving many of the difficulties under 
which natural theism labours, and thus confirming every 
other line of evidence. 

A reasonable person searches for a reason and all 
reasons point to a God, all- wise, all-powerful, and all- 
loving. On no other theory can we account for what 
we see about us. It is impossible to conceive of the 
universe, illimitable in extent and seemingly measure- 
less in time, as being the result of chance. The reign 
of law, universal and eternal, compels belief in a Law 
Giver. 

We need not give much time to the agnostic. If he 
IS sincere he does not know and therefore cannot af- 
firm, deny or advise. When I was a young man I 
wrote to Colonel IngersoU, the leading infidel of his 
day, and asked his views on God and immortality. 
His secretary sent me a speech which quoted Colonel 
IngersoU as follows: "I do not say that there is no 
God: I simply say I do not know. I do not say that 
there is no life beyond the grave: I simply say I do 
not know ! " What pleasure could any man find in 
taking from a human heart a living faith and putting 
in the place of it the cold and cheerless doctrine " I 
do not know " ? Many who call themselves agnostics 
are really atheists; it is easier to profess ignorance than 
to defend atheism. 

We give the atheist too much latitude ; we allow him 
to ask all the questions and we try to answer them. 
I know of no reason why the Christian should take 
upon himself the difficult task of answering all ques- 



14 '' IN THE BEGINNING— GOD '> 

tions and give to the atheist the easy task of asking 
them. Any one can ask questions, but not every ques- 
tion can be answered. If I am to discuss creation with 
an atheist it will be on condition that we ask questions 
about. He may ask the first one if he wishes, but he 
shall not ask a second one until he answers my first. 

What is the first question an atheist asks a Chris- 
tian? There is but one first question: Where do you 
begin? I answer: I begin where the Bible begins. 
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the 
earth.'' I begin with a Creative Cause that is sufficient 
for anything that can come thereafter. 

Having answered the atheist's first question, it is 
now my turn, and I ask my first question of the athe- 
ist: *' Where do you begin?" And then his trouble 
begins. Did you ever hear an atheist explain creation ? 
He cannot begin with God because he denies the exist- 
ence of a God. But he must begin somewhere; it is 
just as necessary for the atheist as for the Christian 
to have a beginning point for his philosophy. 

Where does the atheist begin? He usually starts 
with the nebular hypothesis. And where does that 
begin? "In the beginning"? No. It begins by as- 
Sliming that two things existed, which the theory does 
not try to explain. It assumes that matter and force 
existed, but it does not tell us how matter and force 
came into existence, where they came from, or 
why they came. The theory begins: "Let us sup- 
pose that matter and force are here," and then, ac- 
cording to the theory, force working on matter, cre- 
ated a world. I have just as much right as the athe- 



a 



IN THE BEGINNING— GOD'' 15 



ist to begin with an assumption, and I would rather 
begin with God and reason down, than begin with a 
piece of dirt and reason up. The difference between 
the Christian theory and the materialistic theory is 
that the Christian begins with God, while the mate- 
rialist begins with dull, inanimate matter. / know of 
no theory suggested as a suhstitiUe for the Bible theory 
that is as rational and as easy to believe. 

If the atheist asks me if I can understand God, I 
answer that it is not necessary that my finite mind 
shall comprehend the Infinite Mind before I admit that 
there is an infinite mind, any more than it is necessary 
that I shall understand the sun before I can admit 
that there is a sun. We must deal with the facts about 
us whether we can understand them or not. 

If the atheist tells me that I have no right to be- 
lieve in God until I can understand Him, I will take 
his own logic and drive him to suicide; for, by that 
logic, what right has an atheist to live unless he can 
understand the mystery of his own life? Does the 
atheist understand the mystery of the life he lives? 
No; bring me the most learned atheist and when he 
has gathered all the information that this earth can 
give, I will have a little child lead him out and show 
him the grass upon the ground, the leaves upon the 
trees, the birds that fly in the air, and the fishes in the 
deep, and the little child will mock him and tell him, 
and tell him truly, that he, the little child, knows just 
as much about the mystery of life as does the most 
learned atheist. We have our thoughts, our hopes, 
our fears, and yet we know that in a moment a change 



16 '' IN THE BEGINNING— GOD '^ 

may come over any one of us that will convert a living, 
breathing human being into a mass of lifeless clay. 
What is it, that, having, we live, and, having not, we 
are as the clod ? We know as little of the mystery of 
life to-day as they knew in the dawn of creation and 
yet behold the civilization that man has wrought. 

And love that makes life worth living is also a 
mystery. Have you ever read a scientific definition of 
love? You never will. Why? Because a man 
does not know what love is until he gets into it, 
and then he is not scientific until he gets out again. 
And even if we could understand the mysterious tie 
that brings two hearts together from out the multitude, 
and on a united life builds the home, earth's only para- 
dise, we still would be unable to understand that larger 
mystery that manifests itself when a human heart 
reaches out and links itself to every other heart. 

And patriotism, also, is a mystery — intangible, in- 
visible, and yet eternal. Because there has been in the 
past such a thing as patriotism, millions have given 
their lives for their country. Patriotism could com- 
mand millions of lives to-day. Our country is not lack- 
ing in patriotism; we have as much as can be found 
anywhere else, and It is of as high a quality. There 
ought to be more patriotism here than elsewhere; as 
citizenship in the United States carries more benefits 
with it than citizenship in any other land, the Ameri- 
can citizen should be willing to sacrifice more than 
any other citizen to make sure that the blessings of 
our government shall descend unimpaired to children 
and to children's children. The atheist knows as lit- 



" IN THE BEGINNING— GOD ^' 17 

tie about these mysteries as the Christian does and yet 
he lives, he loves and he is patriotic. 

But our case is even stronger: Everything with 
which man deals is full of mystery. The very food 
we eat is mysterious; sometimes man-made food be- 
comes so mysterious that we are compelled to enact 
pure food laws in order that we may know what we 
are eating. And God-made food is as mysterious as 
man-made food, though we cannot compel Jehovah to 
make known the formula. 

We encourage children to raise vegetables; a little 
child can learn how to raise vegetables, but no grown 
person understands the mystery that is wrapped up in 
every vegetable that grows. Let me illustrate: I am 
fond of radishes; my good wife knows it and keeps 
me supplied with them when she can. I eat radishes 
in the morning; I eat radishes at noon; I eat radishes 
at night ; I eat radishes between meals ; I like radishes. 
I plant radish seed — put the little seed into the ground, 
and go out in a few days and find a full grown radish. 
The top is green, the body of the root is white and 
almost transparent, and around it I sometimes find a 
delicate pink or red. Whose hand caught the hues of 
a summer sunset and wrapped them around the rad- 
ish's root down there in the darkness in the groimd? 
I cannot understand a radish; can you? If one re- 
fused to eat anything until he could understand the 
mystery of Its growth, he would die of starvation; but 
mystery does not bother us in the dining-room, — it is 
only in the church that mystery seems to give us 
trouble. 



18 '' IN THE BEGINNING— GOD 



}9 



In travelling around the world I found that the egg 
is a universal form of food. When we reached Asia 
the cooking was so different from ours that the boiled 
egg was sometimes the only home-like thing we could 
find on the table. I became so attached to the tgg, 
that, when I returned to the United States, for weeks 
I felt like taking my hat off to every hen I met. What 
is more mysterious than an egg? Take a fresh egg; 
it is not only good food, but an important article of 
merchandise. But loan a fresh egg to a hen, after 
the hen has developed a well-settled tendency to sit, 
and let her keep the egg under her for a week, and, as 
any housewife will tell you, it loses a large part of Its 
market value. But be patient with the hen; let her 
have it for two weeks more and she will give you back 
a chicken that you could not find in the egg. No one 
can understand the egg, but we all like eggs. 

Water is essential to human life, and has been from 
the beginning, but it is only a short time ago, relatively 
speaking, that we learned that water is composed of 
gas. Two gases got mixed together and could not get 
apart and we call the mixture water, but it was much 
more important that man should have had water to 
drink all these years than it was to find out that water 
is composed of gas. And there is one thing about 
water that we do not yet understand, viz., why it differs 
from other things in this, that other things continue 
to contract indefinitely under the influence of cold, 
while water contracts until it reaches a certain tem- 
perature and then, the rule being reversed, expands 
under the influence of more intense cold ? It does not 



'' m THE BEGINNING— GOD '' 19 

make much difference whether we ever learn why this 
is true, but it is important to the world to know that 
it is so. 

Sometimes I go into a community and find a young 
man who has come in from the country and obtained 
a smattering of knowledge; then his head swells and 
he begins to swagger around and say that an intelli- 
gent man like himself cannot afford to have anything 
to do with anything that he cannot understand. Poor 
boy, he will be surprised to find out how few things 
he will be able to deal with if he adopts that rule. I 
feel like suggesting to him that the next time he goes 
home to show himself off to his parents on the farm 
he address himself to the first mystery that ever came 
under his observation, and has not yet been solved, 
notwithstanding the wonderful progress made by our 
agricultural colleges. Let him find out, if he can, why 
it is that a black cow can eat green grass and then give 
white milk with yellow butter in it ? Will the mystery 
disturb him? No. He will enjoy the milk and the 
butter without worrying about the mystery in them. 

And so we might take any vegetable or fruit. The 
blush upon the peach is in striking contrast to the 
serried walls of the seed within; who will explain the 
mystery of the apple, the queen of the orchard, or 
the nut with its meat, its shell, and its outer covering? 
Who taught the tomato vine to fling its flaming many- 
mansioned fruit before the gaze of the passer-by, while 
the potato modestly conceals its priceless gifts within 
the bosom of the earth ? 

I learned years ago that it is the mystery in the 



20 '^N THE BEGINNING— GOD' ' 

miracle that makes it a stumbling block in the way of 
many. If you will analyze the miracle you will find 
just two questions in it: Can God perform a miracle? 
And, would He want to ? The first question is easily 
answered. A God who can make a world can do any- 
thing He wants to with it. We cannot deny that God 
can perform a miracle, without denying that God is 
God. But, would God want to perform a miracle? 
That is the question that has given the trouble, but it 
has only troubled those, mark you, who are unwilling 
to admit that the infinite mind of God may have rea- 
sons that the finite mind of man does not compre- 
hend. If, for any reason, God desires to do so, can 
He not, with His infinite strength, temporarily sus- 
pend the operation of any of His laws, as man with his 
feeble arm overcomes the law of gravitation when he 
lifts a stone ? 

If among my readers any one has been pre- 
sumptuous enough to attempt to confine the power 
and purpose of God by man's puny understanding, let 
me persuade him to abandon this absurd position by 
the use of an illustration which I once found in a 
watermelon. I was passing through Columbus, Ohio, 
some years ago and stopped to eat in the restaurant 
in the depot. My attention was called to a slice of 
watermelon, and I ordered it and ate it. I was so 
pleased with the melon that I asked the waiter to dry 
some of the seeds that I might take them home and 
plant them in my garden. That night a thought came 
into my mind — I would use that watermelon as an 
illustration. So, the next morning when I reached 



^' IN THE BEGINNING— GOD '^ 21 

Chicago, I had enough seeds weighed to learn that 
it would take about five thousand watermelon seeds 
to weigh a pound, and I estimated that the water- 
melon weighed about forty pounds. Then I applied 
mathematics to the watermelon. A few weeks before 
some one, I knew not who, had planted a little water- 
melon seed in the ground. Under the influence of 
sunshine and shower that little seed had taken off its 
coat and gone to work ; It had gathered from some- 
where two hundred thousand times its own weight, 
and forced that enormous weight through a tiny stem 
and built a watermelon. On the outside it had put a 
covering of green, within that a rind of white and 
within the white a core of red, and then it had scat- 
tered through the red core little seeds, each one ca- 
pable of doing the same work over again. What archi- 
tect drew the plan? Where did that little watermelon 
seed get its tremendous strength? Where did it find 
its flavouring extract and its colouring matter ? How 
did it build a watermelon? Until you can explain a 
watermelon, do not be too sure that you can set limits 
to the power of the Almighty, or tell just what He 
would do, or how He would do it. The most learned 
man in the world cannot explain a watermelon, but the 
most ignorant man can eat a watermelon, and enjoy 
it. God has given us the things that we need, and He 
has given us the knowledge necessary to use those 
things: the truth that He has revealed to us is in- 
finitely more important for our welfare than it would 
be to understand the mysteries that He has seen fit to 
conceal from us. So it is with religion. If you ask 



22 '' IN THE BEGINNING— GOD ^' 

me whether I understand everything in the Bible, I 
frankly answer, No. I understand some things to-day 
that I did not understand ten years ago and, if I live 
ten years longer, I trust that some things will be clear 
that are now obscure. But there is something more 
important than understanding everything in the Bible; 
it is this: If we will embody in our lives that which 
we do understand we will be kept so busy doing good 
that we will not have time to worry about the things 
that we do not understand. 

In " The Grave Digger," written by Fred Emerson 
Brooks, there is one stanza which is in point here: 

" If chance could fashion but a little flower. 
With perfume for each tiny thief, 
And furnish it with sunshine and with shower, 

Then chance would be creator, with the power 
To build a world for unbelief." 

But chance cannot fashion even a little flower ; chance 
cannot create a single thing that grows. Every living 
thing bears testimony to a living God and, if there be 
a God, then every human life is a part of that God's 
plan. And, if this be true, then the highest duty of 
man, as it should be his greatest pleasure, is to try 
to find out God's will concerning himself and to do it. 
When Job was asked, "Canst thou by searching 
find out God ? " a negative answer was implied, but 
we can see manifestations of God's power everywhere; 
in the suns and planets that, revolving, whirl through 
space, held in position by forces centripetal and centrif- 
ugal ; we see it in the mountains rent asunder and up- 
turned by a force not only superhuman but beyond 



" IN THE BEGINNING— GOD » 23 

the power of man to conceive. Captain Crawford, 
the poet-scout, in describing the mountains of the 
West has used a phrase which often comes into my 
mind: " Where the hand of God is seen/* 

We see manifestation of God's power in the ebb 
and flow of the tides; in the mighty "shoreless 
rivers of the ocean''; in the suspended water in the 
clouds — ^billions of tons, seemingly defying the law of 
gravitation while they await the command that sends 
them down in showers of blessings. We behold it in 
the lightning's flash and the thunder's roar, and in the 
invisible germ of life that contains wiihin itself the 
power to gather its nourishment from the earth and 
air, fulfill its mission and propagate its kind. 

We see all about us, also, conclusive proofs of the 
infinite intelligence and fathomless love of the 
Heavenly Father. On lofty mountain summits He 
builds His mighty reservoirs and piles high the winter 
snows, which, melting, furnish the water for singing 
brooks, for the hidden veins, and for the springs that 
pour out their refreshing flood through the smitten 
rocks. At His touch the same element that furnishes 
ice to cool the fevered brow furnishes also the steam 
to move man's commerce on sea and land. He im- 
prisons in roaring cataracts exhaustless energy for the 
service of man: He stores away in the bowels of the 
earth beds of coal and rivers of oil; He studs the 
canyon's frowning walls with precious metals and 
priceless gems; He extends His magic wand, and the 
soil becomes rich with fertility; the early and the lat- 
ter rains supply the needed moisture, and the sun, with 



24 ^* IN THE BEGINNING— GOD '' 

its marvellous alchemy, transmutes base clay into 
golden grain. He gives us in infinite variety the fruits 
of the orchard, the vegetables of the garden and the 
berries of the woods. He gives us the sturdy oak, the 
fruitful nut-tree and the graceful palm. 

In compassion He makes the horse to bear our bur- 
dens and the cow to supply the dairy; and He gives 
us the faithful hen. He makes the fishes to scour the 
sea for food and then yield themselves up to the table; 
He sends the bee forth to gather sweets for man and 
birds to sing his cares away. He paints the skies with 
the gray of the morning and the glow of the sunset; 
He sets His radiant bow in the clouds and copies its 
colours in myriad flowers. He gives to the babe a 
mother's love, to the child a father's care, to parents 
the joy of children, to brothers and sisters the sweet 
association of the fireside, and He gives to all the 
friend. Well may the Psalmist exclaim, " The heavens 
declare the glory of God ; and the firmament showeth 
his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and 
night unto night sheweth knowledge." Surely every- 
thing that hath breath should praise the Lord. 

It would seem that a knowledge of nature would be 
sufficient to convince any unprejudiced mind that there 
is a designer back of the design, a Creator back of the 
creation, but, for a reason which I shall treat more 
fully in a future lecture, some of the scientists have 
become materialistic. The doctrine of evolution has 
closed their hearts to the plainest of spiritual truths 
and opened their minds to the wildest guesses made in 
the name of science. If they find a piece of pottery 



♦* IN THE BEGINNING— GOD '' 25 

in a mound, supposed to be ancient, they will venture 
to estimate the degree of civilization of the designer 
from the rude scratches on its surface, and yet they 
cannot discern the evidences of design which the Cre- 
ator has written upon every piece of His handiwork. 
They can understand how an invisible force, like 
gravitation, can draw all matter down to the earth but 
they cannot comprehend an invisible God who draws 
all spirits upward to His throne. 

The Bible's proof of God becomes increasingly 
necessary to meet the agnosticism and atheism that are 
the outgrowth of modern mind- worship. I shall speak 
of the Bible in my second lecture; I refer to it here 
merely for the purpose of pointing out the harmony 
between the spoken word and the evidence furnished 
by God's handiwork throughout the universe. The 
wisdom of the Bible writers is more than human ; the 
prophecies proclaim a Supreme Ruler who, though in- 
habiting all space, deigns to speak through the hearts 
and minds and tongues of His children. 

The Christ of whom the Bible tells furnishes the 
highest evidence of the power, the wisdom, and the 
love of Jehovah. He is a living Christ, present to-day 
in the increasing influence that He exerts over the 
hearts of men and over the history of nations. 

We not only have God in the Bible and God in 
nature but we have God in life and accessible to 
all. It is not necessary to spend time in trying to 
comprehend God — a task too great for the finite mind ; 
we can "taste and see that the Lord is good.'' We 
can test His grace and prove His presence. The nega- 



26 " IN THE BEGINNING— GOD '' 

tive arguments of the atheist and the indecision of 
the agnostic will not disturb the faith of one who 
daily communes with the Heavenly Father, and, by 
obedience, lays hold upon His promise. 
< Belief in God is almost universal and the effect of 
this belief is so vast that one is appalled at the thought 
of what social conditions would be if reverence for 
God were erased from every heart, A sense of re- 
sponsibility to God for every thought and word and 
deed is the most potent influence that acts upon the 
life — for one man kept in the straight and narrow way 
by fear of prison walls a multitude are restrained by 
those invisible walls that conscience rears about us, 
walls that are stronger than the walls of stone. 

At first the fear of God — fear that sin will bring 
punishment — is needed; '' The fear of the Lord is the 
beginning of wisdom." But as one learns to appre- 
ciate the goodness of God and the plenitude of His 
mercy, love takes the place of fear and obedience be- 
comes a pleasure ; " His delight is in the law of the 
Lord ; and in his law doth he meditate day and night/* 

The paramount need of the world to-day, as it was 
nineteen hundred years ago, is a whole-hearted, whole- 
souled, whole-minded faith in the Living God. A 
hesitating admission that there is a God is not suffi- 
cient; Man must love with all his heart, and with all 
his soul, and with all his mind, and with all his 
strength, — and to love he must believe. Belief in God 
must be a conviction that controls every nerve and fibre 
of his being and dominates every impulse and energy 
of his life. 



" IN THE BEGINNING— GOD " 27 

Belief in God is necessary to prayer. It is not suf- 
ficient to believe that there is an Intelligence permeat- 
ing the universe; nothing less than a personal God — a 
God interested in each one of His children and ready 
to give at any moment the aid that is needed — ^nothing 
less than this can lead one to communion with the 
Heavenly Father through prayer. Evolutionists have 
attempted to retain the form of prayer while denying 
that God answers prayer. They argue that prayer has 
a reflex action upon the petitioner and reconciles him 
to his lot. This argument might justify one in think- 
ing prayer good enough for others who believe, but it 
is impossible for one to be fervent in prayer himself if 
he is convinced that his pleas do not reach a prayer- 
hearing and a prayer-answering God. Prayer be- 
comes a mockery when faith is gone, just as Chris- 
tianity becomes a mere form when prayer is gone. If 
the words of the Bible have any meaning at all one 
must believe that God '' is, and that he is a rewarder 
of them that diligently seek him." 

Belief in God is necessary to that confidence in His 
providence which is the source of the Christian's calm- 
ness in hours of trial. We soon reach the limitations 
of our strength and would despair but for our con- 
fidence in the infinite wisdom of God. David ex- 
presses this when he says, "Unto the upright there 
ariseth light in the darkness. He . . . shall 
not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting 
in the Lord" (Ps. 112). 

In my youth, my father often had me read to 
him Bryant's " Ode to a Waterfowl " and it became 



28 " IN THE BEGINNING— GOD '' 

my favourite poem. I know of no more comforting 
words outside of Holy Writ than those in the last 
stanza: 

" He who from zone to zone, 

Guides through the boundless sky thy certain 
flight; 
In the long way that I must tread alone, 
Will lead my steps aright/' 

Belief in God gives courage. The Christian believes 
that every word spoken in behalf of truth will have 
its influence and that every deed done for the right 
will weigh in the final account. What matters it to 
the believer whether his eyes behold the victory and 
his voice mingles in the shouts of triumph, or whether 
he dies in the midst of the conflict ! 

" Yea, tho' thou lie upon the dust, 

When they who helped thee flee in fear, 
Die full of hope and manly trust. 
Like those who fell in battle here. 

Another hand thy sword shall wield. 

Another hand the standard wave, 
Till from the trumpet's mouth is pealed, 

The blast of triumph o'er thy grave 



fy 



Only those who believe attempt the seemingly im- 
possible, and, by attempting, prove that one, with 
God, can chase a thousand and two put ten thousand 
to flight. I can imagine that the early Christians, who 
were carried into the Coliseum to make a spectacle for 
spectators more cruel than the beasts, were entreated 
by their doubting companions not to endanger their 



*' IN THE BEGINNING— GOD '' 29 

lives. But, kneeling in the center of the arena, they 
prayed and sang until they were devoured. How help- 
less they seemed, and measured by every human rule, 
how hopeless was their cause ! And yet within a few 
decades the power which they invoked proved mightier 
than the legions of the emperor and the faith in which 
they died was triumphant o'er all the land. It is said 
that those who went to mock at their sufferings re- 
turned asking themselves: " What is it that can enter 
into the heart of man and make him die as these die ? " 
They were greater conquerors in their death than they 
could have been had they purchased life by a sur- 
render of their faith. 

What would have been the fate of the Church if 
the early Christians had had as little faith as many of 
our Christians of to-day? And, if the Christians of 
to-day had the faith of the martyrs, how long would 
it be before the prophecy were fulfilled — " every knee 
shall bow and every tongue confess '' ? 

Belief in God is the basis of every moral code. 
Morality cannot be put on as a garment and taken off 
at will. It is a power within; it works out from the 
heart as a spring pours forth its flood. It is not safe 
for a weak Christian to associate Intimately with the 
world because he may be influenced by others instead 
of influencing others. But one need not fear when 
his morality derives its energy from connection with 
the Heavenly Father. Just as the water from a hose, 
because It comes from a reservoir above, will cleanse 
a muddy pool without danger of a single drop of 
pollution entering the hose, so the Christian can go 



30 '' IN THE BEGINNING— GOD " 

into infected areas and among those diseased by sin 
without fear of contamination so long as he is 
prompted by a sincere desire to serve and is filled with 
a heaven-born longing for souls. 

Joseph gives us a splendid illustration of strength 
inspired by faith. Reason fails when one is punished 
for righteousness' sake; only a belief in God can sus- 
tain one in such an hour of trial and make him enter 
a dungeon rather than surrender his integrity. 

We need this belief in God in our dealings with 
nations as well as in the control of our own conduct; 
it is necessary to the establishment of justice. With- 
out that belief one cannot understand how sin brings 
its own punishment. Among the beasts strength is 
accompanied by no sense of responsibility; only man 
understands — and then only when he believes in God 
— ^that he must restrain his power and respect the 
rights of others. Only man understands — and then 
only when he believes in God — that the laws of the 
Almighty protect the innocent by bringing upon the 
sinner the effects of his own sin. No nation, however 
great, and no group of nations, however strong, can 
do wrong with impunity. The very doing of wrong 
works the ruin of those who are guilty, no matter how 
powerless their victims may be to protect or avenge 
themselves. 

Most of the crimes committed by nations are due to 
an attempt on the part of those in authority to estab- 
lish for nations a system of morals totally different 
from that which is binding upon the individual. Noth- 
ing but a real belief in God and confidence in the im- 



'' IN THE BEGINNIKG— GOD '> 31 

mutability of His decrees can stay the arm of strength 
in individual or nation. 

Belief in God is the basis of brotherhood; we are 
brothers because we are children of one God, We 
trace through the common parent of all the tie that 
unites the offspring in one great family. The spirit of 
brotherhood is impossible without faith in God, the 
Father, and peace, at home and abroad, is impossible 
without the spirit of brotherhood. 

One must believe in God in order to be Interested in 
the carrying out of the Creator's plans. In the prayer 
which Christ suggested as a form for His followers, 
interest in the coming of God's kingdom stands first. 
The petition begins with adoration of the Supreme 
Being and in the next sentence the heart pours out its 
desire in an appeal for the coming of that day when 
the will of God shall be done in earth as it is done in 
heaven. It is proof of the supreme importance of this 
attitude that this petition comes before the request for 
daily bread ; it comes even before the appeal for for- 
giveness. How quickly the prayer would be answered 
if all who utter it would rise from their knees and 
make the hastening of God's kingdom the uppermost 
thought in their minds throughout the day ! 

Finally, belief In God Is necessary to belief in im- 
mortality. If there is no God there Is no hereafter. 
When, therefore, one drives God out of the universe 
he closes the door of hope upon himself. 

A belief in Immortality not only consoles the Indi- 
vidual, but It exerts a powerful Influence In promoting 
justice between Individuals. If one actually thinks 



32 '' m THE BEGINNING— GOD '' 

that man dies as the brute dies, he will yield more 
easily to the temptation to do injustice to his neigh- 
bour when the circumstances are such as to promise 
security from detection. But if one really expects to 
meet again, and live eternally with those whom he 
knows to-day, he is restrained from evil deeds by the 
fear of endless remorse even when not actuated by 
higher motives. We do not know, what rewards are 
in store for us or what punishments may be reserved, 
but if there were no other it would be no light punish- 
ment for one who deliberately wrongs another to have 
to live forever in the company of the person wronged 
and have his littleness and selfishness laid bare. 

The Creator has not left us in doubt on the subject 
of immortality. He has given to every created thing 
a tongue that proclaims a life beyond the grave. 

If the Father deigns to touch with divine power the 
cold and pulseless heart of the buried acorn and to 
make it burst forth from its prison walls, will He leave 
neglected in the earth the soul of man, made in the 
image of his Creator? If He stoops to give to the 
rose-bush, whose withered blossoms float upon the 
autumn breeze, the sweet assurance of another spring- 
time, will He refuse the words of hope to the sons of 
men when the frosts of winter come? If matter, mute 
and inanimate, though changed by the forces of na- 
ture into a multitude of forms, can never die, will the 
imperial spirit of man suffer annihilation when it has 
paid a brief visit like a royal guest to this tenement 
of clay ? No, He who, notwithstanding His apparent 
prodigality, created nothing without a purpose, and 



<^ m THE BEGIKNIKG— GOD ^' 33 

wasted not a single atom in all His creation, has made 
provision for a future life in which man's universal 
longing for immortality will find its realization. I 
am as sure that we shall live again as I am sure that we 
live to-day. 

In Cairo, I secured a few grains of wheat that had 
slumbered for more than thirty centuries in an Egyp- 
tian tomb. As I looked at them this thought came 
into my mind: If one of those grains had been planted 
on the banks of the Nile the year after it grew, and 
all its lineal descendants had been planted and re- 
planted from that time until now, its progeny would 
to-day be sufficiently numerous to feed the teeming 
millions of the world. An unbroken chsfin of life con- 
nects the earliest grains of wheat with the grains that 
we sow and reap. There is in the grain of wheat an 
invisible something which has power to discard the 
body that we see, and from earth and air fashion a 
new body so much like the old one that we cannot tell 
the one from the other. If this invisible germ of life 
in the grain of wheat can thus pass unimpaired 
through three thousand resurrections, I shall not 
doubt that my soul has power to clothe itself with a 
body suited to its new existence, when this earthly 
frame has crumbled into dust 



II 

THE BIBLE 

JESUS CHRIST not only endorsed the Old 
Testament as authoritative, but bore witness to 
its eternal truth. " Think not/' He said, " that 
I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am 
not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say 
unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one 
tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be ful- 
filled '' (Matt. 5:17, 18). 

When one's belief in God becomes the controlling 
passion of his life; when he loves God with all his 
heart, with all his soul, with all his mind and with all 
his strength he is anxious to learn God's will and 
ready to accept the Bible as the Word of God. All 
that he asks is sufficient evidence of its inspiration. 

After so many hundreds of millions have adopted 
the Bible as their guide for so many centuries, the 
burden of proof would seem on those who reject it. 

The Bible is either the word of God or the work 
of man. Those who regard it as a man-made book 
should be challenged to put their theory to the test. 
If man made the Bible, he is, unless he has degener- 
ated, able to make as good a book to-day. 

Judged by human standards, man is far better pre- 
pared to write a Bible now than he was when our Bible 
was written. The characters whose words and deeds 

34 



THE BIBLE 35 

are recorded in the Bible were members of a single 
race ; they lived among the hills of Palestine in a ter- 
ritory scarcely larger than one of our counties. They 
did not have printing presses and they lacked the 
learning of the schools; they had no great libraries to 
consult, no steamships to carry them around the world 
and make them acquainted with the various centers of 
ancient civilization; they had no telegraph wires to 
bring them the news from the ends of the earth and 
no newspapers to spread before them each morning 
the doings of the day before. Science had not un- 
locked Nature's door and revealed the secrets of rocks 
below and stars above. From what a scantily sup- 
plied storehouse of knowledge they had to draw, com- 
pared with the unlimited wealth of information at 
man's command to-day! And yet these Bible char- 
acters grappled with every problem that confronts 
mankind, from the creation of the world to eternal 
life beyond the tomb. They gave us a diagram of 
man's existence from the cradle to the grave and set 
up warning signs at every dangerous point. 

The Bible gives us the story of the birth, the words, 
the works, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the 
ascension of Him whose coming was foretold by 
prophecy, whose arrival was announced by angel 
voices, singing Peace and Good-will — the story of 
Him who gave to the world a code of morality su- 
perior to anything that the world had known before 
or has known since. 

Let the atheists and the materialists produce a bet- 
ter Bible than ours, if they can. Let them collect the 



36 THE BIBLE 

best of their school to be found among the graduates 
of universities — as many as they please and from 
every land. Let the members of this selected group 
travel where they will, consult such libraries as they 
like, and employ every modem means of swift com- 
munication. Let them glean in the fields of geology, 
botany, astronomy, biology, and zoology, and then 
roam at will wherever science has opened a way; let 
them take advantage of all the progress in art and in 
literature, in oratory and in history — let them use to 
the full every instrumentality that is employed in 
modern civilization; and when they have exhausted 
every source, let them embody the results of their best 
intelligence in a book and offer it to the world as a 
substitute for this Bible of ours. Have they the con- 
fidence that the prophets of Baal had in their god? 
Will they try? If not, what excuse will they give? 
Has man so fallen from his high estate, that we can- 
not rightfully expect as much of him now as nineteen 
centuries ago ? Or does the Bible come to us from a 
source that is higher than man ? 

But the case is even stronger. The opponents of 
the Bible cannot take refuge in the plea that man is 
retrograding. They loudly proclaim that man has 
grown and that he is growing still. They boast of a 
world-wide advance and their claim is founded upon 
fact. In all matters except in the "science of how 
to live," man has made wonderful progress. The 
mastery of the mind over the forces of nature seems 
almost complete, so far do we surpass the ancients iiil 
harnessing the water, the wind and the lightning. 



THE BIBLE 37 

For ages, the rivers plunged down the mountain- 
sides and exhausted their energies without any ap- 
preciable contribution to man's service; now they are 
estimated as so many units of horse-power, and we 
find that their fretting and foaming was merely a 
language which they employed to tell us of their 
strength and of their willingness to work for us. And, 
while falling water is becoming each a day a larger 
factor in burden-bearing, water, rising in the form 
of steam, is revolutionizing the transporation methods 
of the world. 

The wind, that first whispered its secret of strength 
to the flapping sail, is now turning the wheel at the 
well, and our flying machines have taken possession 
of the air. 

Lightning, the red demon that, from the dawn of 
Creation, has been rushing down its zigzag path 
through the clouds, as if intent only upon spreading 
death, metamorphosed into an errand-boy, brings us 
illumination from the sun and carries our messages 
around the globe. 

Inventive genius has multiplied the power of a hu- 
man arm and supplied the masses with comforts of 
which the rich did not dare to dream a few centuries 
ago. Science is ferreting out the hidden causes of dis- 
ease and teaching us how to prolong life. In every 
line, except in the line of character-building, the world 
seems to have been made over, but these marvellous 
changes only emphasize the fact that man, too, must 
be bom again, while they show how impotent are 
material things to touch the soul of man and trans- 



38 THE BIBLE 

form him into a spiritual being. Wherever the 
moral standard is being lifted up — wherever life is 
becoming larger in the vision that directs it and richer 
in its fruitage, the improvement is traceable to the 
Bible and to the influence of the God and Christ of 
whom the Bible tells. 

The atheist and the materialist must confess that 
man should be able to produce a better book to-day 
than man, unaided, could have produced in any pre- 
vious age. The fact that they have tried, time and 
time again, only to fail each time more hopelessly, ex- 
plains why they will not — why they cannot — accept 
the challenge thrown down by the Christian world to 
produce a book worthy to take the Bible's place. 

They have begged to their God to answer with fire 
— appealed to inanimate matter with an earnestness 
that is pathetic; they have employed in the worship of 
blind force a faith greater than religion requires, but 
their God is asleep. How long will they allow the 
search for strata of stone and fragments of fossil and 
decaying skeletons that are strewn around the house 
to absorb their thoughts to the exclusion of the 
architect who planned it all? How long will the ag- 
nostic, closing his eyes to the plainest truths, cry, 
" Night, night," v/hen the sun in his meridian splen- 
dour announces that noon is here? 

Those who reject the Bible ignore its claim to in- 
spiration. This in itself makes them enemies of the 
Book of books, because the Bible characters profess 
to speak by inspiration, and what they say bears the 
stamp of the supernatural. " Holy men of God spake 



THE BIBLE 39 

as they were moved by the Holy Ghost '' (2 Peter 
1:21). 

Which things also we speak, not in the words which 
man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teach- 
eth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the 
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : 
for they are foolisnness unto him: neither can he know 
them, because they are spiritually discerned (i Cor. 
2:13-14). 

Those who reject the Bible ignore the spirit that 
pervades it, the atmosphere that envelopes it, the har- 
mony of its testimonies and the unity of its structure, 
despite the fact that it is the product of many writ- 
ers during many centuries. Its parts were not ar- 
ranged by man, but prearranged by the Almighty. 

Those who reject the Bible also ignore the 
prophecies and their fulfillment — " History written in 
advance '* — proof that appeals irresistibly to the open 
mind. 

Those who reject the Bible even disparage the testi- 
mony which the Saviour bore to the inspiration of the 
Old Testament, and yet what could be more explicit 
than His words? "And beginning at Moses and all 
the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the 
Scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 
24:27). 

As Canon Liddon says: 

"For Christians, it will be enough to know that our 
Lord, Jesus Christ, set the seal of His infallible sanction 
on the whole of the Old Testament. He found the 
Hebrew canon as we have it in our hands to-day, and 



40 THE BIBLE 

He treated It as an authority which was above discussion. 
Nay, more ; He went out of His way — if we may rever- 
ently speak thus, — to sanction not a few portions of it 
which modern scepticism rejects." 

r 
Besides open enemies, the Bible has enemies who are 

less frank — enemies who, while claiming to be friends 
of Christianity, spend their time undermining faith in 
God, faith in the Bible, and faith in Christ. These 
professed friends call themselves higher critics — a 
title which — though explained by them as purely 
technical — smacks of an insufferable egotism. They 
assume an air of superior intelligence and look down 
with mingled pity and contempt upon what they re- 
gard as poor, credulous humanity. The higher critic 
is more dangerous than the open enemy. The atheist 
approaches you boldly and tries to blow out your light, 
but, as you know who he is, what he is trying to do and 
why, you can protect yourself. The higher critic, 
however, comes to you in the guise of a friend and 
politely inquires: " Isn't the light too near your eyes? 
I fear it will injure your sight." Then he moves the 
light away, a little at a time, until it is only a speck 
and then — invisible. 

Some who have used the title *' higher critic " have 
approached their subject in a reverent spirit and la- 
boured earnestly in the vain hope of satisfying intel- 
lectual doubts, when the real trouble has been with 
the hearts of objectors rather than with their heads. 
Religion is a matter of the heart, and the impulses of 
tTie heart often seem foolish to the mind. Faith is 
different from, and superior to, reason. Faith is a 



THE BIBLE 41 

spiritual extension of the vision — a moral sense that 
reaches out toward the throne of God and takes hold 
of verities that the mind cannot grasp. It is like "' the 
blind leading the blind " for a higher critic, however 
honest, to rely on purely intellectual methods to con- 
vey truths that are '' spiritually discerned." 

As a rule, however, the so-called higher critic is a 
man without spiritual vision, without zeal for souls 
and without any deep interest in the coming of God's 
Kingdom. He toils not in the Master's vineyard and 
yet " Solomon in all his glory " never laid claim to 
such wisdom as he boasts. He does not accept the 
Bible nor defend it; he mutilates it. He puts the Bible 
on the operating table and cuts out the parts that he 
thinks are "diseased." When he has finished his 
work the Bible is no longer the Book of books: it is 
simply " a scrap of paper." 

The higher critic (I speak now of the rule and not 
of the exceptions) begins his investigations with his 
opinion already formed. After he has discarded the 
Bible because he cannot harmonize it with the doc- 
trine of evolution, he labours to find evidence to sup- 
port his preconceived notions. In matters of religion 
the higher critic is usually a " dyspeptic." The Bible 
does not agree with him ; he has not the spiritual fluids 
in sufficient quantity to enable him to digest the miracle 
and the supernatural. He is a doubter and spreads 
doubts. 

Dr. Franklin Johnson, in Volume 2, of "Funda- 
mentals" says (pages 55, 56, 57): "A third fallacy 



42 THE BIBLE 

of the higher critics is the doctrine concerning the 
Scriptures which they teach. If a consistent hypothe- 
sis of evolution is made the basis of our rehgious 
thinking, the Bible will be regarded as only a product 
of human nature working in the field of religious lit- 
erature. It will be merely a natural book." . . . 

Again: ''Yet another fallacy of the higher critics 
is found in their teachings concerning the Biblical 
miracles. If the hypothesis of evolution is applied to 
the Scriptures consistently, it will lead us to deny all 
the miracles which they record." . ♦ . 

And: "Among the higher critics who accept some 
of the miracles there is a notable desire to discredit the 
virgin birth of our Lord, and their treatment of this 
event presents a good example of the fallacies of rea- 
soning by means of which they would abolish many 
of the other miracles." 

Professor Reeve, in a strong article in Volume 3 
of "Fundamentals" (pages 98, 99) tells us of his 
own excursion into the fields of higher criticism, of 
his disappointment and of his glad return to the in- 
terpretations of the Bible that are generally accepted. 
Speaking of his first impressions, he says: 

" The critics seemed to have the logical things on their 
side. The results at which they had arrived seemed in- 
evitable. But upon closer thinking, I saw that the whole 
movement, with its conclusion, was the result of the 
adoption of the hypothesis of evolution." . . . 

" It became more and more obvious to me that the 
great movement was entirely intellectual, an attempt in 
reality to intellectualize all religious phenomena. I saw 
also that it was a partial and one-sided intellectualism, 
with a strong bias against the fundamental tenets of 



THE BIBLE 43 

Biblical Christianity. Such a movement does not pro- 
duce that intellectual humility which belongs to the 
Christian mind. On the contrary, it is responsible for 
a vast amount of intellectual pride, an aristocracy of 
intellect with all the snobbery which usually accompanies 
that term. Do they not exactly correspond to Paul's 
word, ** vainly puffed up in his fleshly mind and not 
holding fast the head, etc." They have a splendid scorn 
for all opinions which do not agree with theirs. Under 
the spell of this sublime contempt they think they can 
ignore anything that does not square with their evolu- 
tionary hypothesis. The center of gravity of their think- 
ing is in the theoretical, not in the religious ; in reason, not 
in faith. Supremely satisfied with its self-constituted 
authority, the mind thinks itself competent to criticize 
the Bible, the thinking of all the centuries, and even 
Jesus Christ Himself. The followers of this cult have 
their full share of the frailties of human nature. Rarely, 
if ever, can a thoroughgoing critic be an evangelist or 
even evangelistic; he is educational. How is it possible 
for a preacher to be a power of God, whose source of 
authority is his own reason and convictions? The Bible 
can scarcely contain more than good advice for such 
a man." 

In Volume 3 of "Fundamentals" (page 84), Sir 
Robert Anderson has this to say: 

"The effect of this 'Higher Criticism' is extremely 
grave. For it has dethroned the Bible in the home, and 
the good old practice of ' family worship ' is rapidly dy- 
ing out. And great national interests also are involved. 
For who can doubt that the prosperity and power of the 
nations of the world are due to the influence of the 
Bible upon the character and conduct? Races of men 
who for generations have been taught to think for them- 
selves in matters of the highest moment will naturally 
excel in every sphere of effort or of enterprise. And 
more than this, no one who is trained in the fear of God 
will fail in his duty to his neighbour, but will prove him- 



44 THE BIBLE 

self a good citizen. But the dethronement of the Bible 
leads practically to the dethronement of God; and in Ger- 
many and America, and now in England, the effects of 
this are declaring themselves in ways, and to an extent, 
well fitted to cause anxiety for the future/' 

The experience of Rev. Paul Kanamori, known as 
the "Japanese Billy Sunday'' furnishes an excellent 
illustration of the chilling effect of higher criticism. 
He was converted when a student and, after a period 
of preaching, became a professor in a theological 
seminary in Japan. Dr. Robert E. Speer, in a preface 
to a published sermon of Mr. Kanamori, thus describes 
the great evangelist's temporary retirement from the 
ministry and its cause: 

" He began to read upon the most recent German 
theology, with the result that he was completely swept 
off his feet by the rationalistic New Theology, Higher 
Criticism, etc. Not long after that he published his new 
views under the title, ' The present and future of Chris- 
tianity in Japan,' and retired from the ministry. . . . 
He remained in this state of spiritual darkness for 
twenty years, until the death of his wife brought him and 
his children into great trouble, but after passing through 
these deep waters he came out again with a clear and 
firm belief in the old-fashioned gospel" ("The Three- 
Hour Sermon," page 8). 

Since Mr. Kanamori's return to the ministry he has 
been the means of leading nearly fifty thousand Japa- 
nese to Christ — ^probably more than the total number 
of souls brought into the Church by all the higher 
critics combined. 

Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, one of the great preach- 



THE BIBLE 45 

ers of the last generation, thus speaks of the higher 
critics: 

''When I see ministers of religion finding fault with 
the Scriptures, it makes me think of a fortress terrifically 
bombarded, and the men on the ramparts, instead of 
swabbing out and loading the guns and helping to fetch 
up the ammunition from the magazine, are trying with 
crowbars to pry out from the wall certain blocks of 
stone, because they did not come from the right quarry. 
Oh, men on the ramparts, better fight back and fight down 
the common enemy, instead of trying to make breaches 
in the wall/* 

It IS a deserved rebuke. The higher critics throw 
ink at a Book that has withstood the assaults of 
materialists for centuries, and are vain enough to think 
that they can blot out its vital truths. Although their 
labours against the Bible have consumed years, they 
expect the public to accept their conclusions at sight. 
If they require so much time to formulate their in- 
dictment against Holy Writ, surely the friends of the 
Bible should be allowed as much time for the inspec- 
tion of the indictment. 

The destructive higher critic is, as a rule, opposed 
to revivals ; in fact, it is one of the tests by which he 
can be distinguished from other preachers. He calls 
the revival a " religious spasm." He understands how 
one can have a spasm of anger and become a murderer, 
or a spasm of passion and ruin a life, or a spasm of 
dishonesty and rob a bank, but he cannot understand 
how one can be convicted of sin, and, in a spasm of 
repentance, be born again. That would be a miracle, 
and miracles are inconsistent with evolution. It 



46 THE BIBLE 

shocks the higher critic to have the prodigal son come 
back so suddenly after going away so deliberately. 

Most of the higher critics discard, because contrary 
to the doctrine of evolution, the virgin birth of Jesus 
and His resurrection, although the former is no more 
mysterious than our own birth — only different, and 
the latter no more mysterious than the origin of life. 
The existence of God makes both possible; and the 
proof is sufficient to establish both. 

If the higher critic will but come into the presence 
of Christ and learn of Him he will express himself in 
the language of the father (whose son had a dumb 
spirit), who, as recorded in Mark (9: 24), " cried out 
and said with tears. Lord, I believe; help thou mine 
unbelief/' 

If he would only mingle with humanity he might 
catch the spirit of the Master; if his sympathies were 
broad enough to take in all of God's people, he would 
be so impressed with the religious needs of sinful man 
that he would hasten to break to him the " Bread of 
Life '* instead of offering him a stone. The Bible, as 
it is, has led millions to repentance and, through for- 
giveness, into life ; the Bible, as the higher critics would 
make it, is impotent to save. 

Enemies of the Bible have been "blasting at the 
Rock of Ages " for nearly two thousand years but in 
spite of attacks of open and secret foes, God still lives, 
and His Book is still precious to His children. 

The Bible would be the greatest book ever written 
if it rested on its literary merits alone, stripped of the 
reverence that inspiration commands; but it becomes 



THE BIBLE 47 

infinitely more valuable when it is accepted as the 
Word of God. As a man-made book it would compel 
the intellectual admiration of the world; as the audible 
voice of the Heavenly Father it makes an irresistible 
appeal to the heart and writes its truths upon our lives. 
Its heroes teach us great lessons — they were giants 
when they walked by faith, but weak as we ourselves 
when they relied upon their own strength. 

The Bible starts with a simple story of creation — 
just a few words, but it says all that can be said. The 
scientists have framed hypotheses, the philosophers 
have formulated theories and the speculators have 
guessed — some of them have darkened " counsel by 
words without knowledge '' — ^but when the smoke of 
controversy rises we find that the first sentence of 
Genesis, still unshaken, comprehends the entire sub- 
ject: '' In the beginning God created the heavens and 
the earth." No one has been able to overthrow it, or 
burrow under it or go around It. 

And so when we set out in search of a foundation 
for statute law; we dig down through the loose dirt, 
the mould of centuries, until we strike solid rock and 
we find the Tables of Stone on which were written 
the ten commandments. All important legislation is 
but an elaboration of these few, brief sentences, and 
the elaborations are often obscuring instead of clarify- 
ing. 

If we desire rules to govern our spiritual develop- 
ment we turn back to the Sermon on the Mount. In 
our educational system It takes many books on many 
subjects to prepare a mind for its work, but three 



48 THE BIBLE 

chapters of the Bible (Matthew 5, 6 and 7) applied to 
life, would have more influence than all the learning 
of the schools in determining the happiness of the 
individual and his service to society. 

If we want to understand the evils of arbitrary 
power, we have only to read Samuel's warning to the 
children of Israel when they clamoured for a king 
(1 Sam. 8: 11, 17). 

If we would form an estimate of the influence that 
faith can exert on a human life, and, through it, upon 
a world, we follow the career of Abraham, " the friend 
of God," and see how his trust in Jehovah was re- 
warded. He founded a race, than which there has 
never been a greater, and established the religion 
through which to-day hundreds of millions worship 
God. 

David showed us how a shepherd lad could become 
the " warrior king " and the *' sweet singer of Israel," 
with virtues so big that, in spite of his enormous sins, 
he is described as " a man after God's own heart.'* 

And what varied instruction we draw from the life 
of Moses! Hidden in the bulrushes on the banks of 
the Nile by a mother who, by instinct or by divine 
suggestion, previsioned a high calling for her son; 
found, under Providential direction, by a daughter of 
Pharaoh; reared in the environment of a palace and 
with the advantages of the most enlightened court of 
his day; compelled to flee into the wilderness because 
of an outburst of race passion; called to a great work 
by a Voice that spoke to him from a bush that " burned 
but was not consumed " ; modestly distrusting his 



THE BIBLE 49 

ability yet dauntless as the spokesman of God— dis- 
penser of plagues — wonder-working man ! Born of an 
obscure family and buried in the Land of Moab in a 
sepulcher which " no man knoweth/' and yet between 
these two humble events he rose to a higher pinnacle 
than any uninspired man has ever reached — leader 
without comparison — lawgiver without a peer. 

He teaches many lessons that, like all truths, can 
be applied in every generation in every land. Race 
sympathy made it possible for him to lead his people 
out of bondage — ^no one not of their own blood could 
have done it. This lesson needs to be heeded to-day. 
Our part in the evangelization of the world will be 
done through native teachers, educated here or in our 
missions, rather than directly. The reformer, too, 
finds in the hardening of Pharaoh's heart the final 
assurance of success ; when the " fullness of time '^ 
has come and any form of bondage is ripe for over- 
throw, the taskmaster's demand for " bricks without 
straw " gives the final impulse and opens the way. 

Joseph has made the world his schoolroom. He 
enables us to understand the words of Solomon; 
"where there is no vision the people perish." He 
shows how, in the hour of trial, faith can triumph 
over reason — ^how God can lead a righteous man 
through a dungeon to a seat by the side of the throne 
— ^how the dreamer can turn scoffing into reverence 
when he has the com. 

Samuel is a standing rebuke to those who think 
"wild oats" a necessary crop in the lives of young 
men. He heard the call of God when he was a child ; 



60 THE BIBLE 

was reared for the Father's work and lived a life so 
blameless that the people proclaimed him just when 
his official career came to an end. 

In the Proverbs of Solomon we find a rare collec- 
tion of truths, beautifully expressed; in Job we find 
an inexhaustible patience set to music and an integrity 
that even Satan himself could not corrupt. 

The Prophets alone would immortalize the Bible — 
rugged characters who dared to rebuke wickedness in 
high places, to reproach a nation for its sins and to 
warn of the coming of the wrath of God. See Elijah 
on Mount Carmel, mocking the worshippers of Baal; 
hear him thunder the Almighty's sentence against a 
king who, coveting Naboth's vineyard, broke three 
commandments to get a little piece of land. And yet 
Elijah fled from wicked Jezebel and would have de- 
spaired but for the Voice that assured him of the 
thousands who were still true to Israel's God — the 
obscure hosts who remained loyal even when the con- 
spicuous became faint-hearted. 

Elisha was a visible link in the chain of power. 
He was not ashamed to wear the mantle of his great 
predecessor; he was willing to take up an unfinished 
work. He bears unimpeachable testimony to the con- 
tinuity of the divine current when human conductors 
can be found to transmit it. It was Elisha who drew 
aside the veil that concealed from his affrighted serv- 
ant the horses and chariots that, upon the mountain, 
await the hours when they are needed to supplement 
the strength of those who fight upon the Lord's side ; 
it was Elisha, too, who proved to the warriors of his 



THE BIBLE 51 

day that magnanimity is more potent than violence. 
He conquered by self-restraint — and '* the bands of 
Syria came no more into the lands of Israel." 

Daniel is another man in whom faith begat courage 
and for whom courage carved a large niche in the 
temple of imperishable fame. The Daniel who inter- 
preted to the trembling Belshazzar the fateful hand- 
writing on the wall ; who, unawed by enemies, prayed 
with his windows open toward Jerusalem, and who, in 
the lions' den, waited in patience until Darius 
hastened from a sleepless couch to call him forth and 
join him in praising Israel's God — this Daniel was the 
same intrepid servant of the Most High, who in his 
youth refused to drink wine from the king's table, 
and, demanding a test, proved that water was better 
— a verdict that twenty-five centuries have not dis- 
turbed. 

Passing over many characters who would seem 
mountainlike but for the majestic peaks that over- 
shadow them, let us turn to the immortal seer who, 
listening heavenward, caught the words of the song 
that startled the shepherds at Bethelehem and, peering 
through the darkness of seven centuries, saw the light 
that shone from Calvary. It was Isaiah who foretold 
more clearly and more fully than any one else the 
coming of the Messiah, suggested the titles which He 
would earn, described the sufferings which He would 
endure and enumerated the blessings He would bring 
to mankind. In chapter nine verse six we read, " For 
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and 
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his 



52 THE BIBLE 

name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The 
Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of 
Peace/' 

In chapter fifty-three, we learn of His vicarious 
atonement: 

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sor- 
rows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were 
our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed 
him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried 
our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten 
of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our 
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the 
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his 
stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone 
astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and 
the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He 
was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not 
his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, 
and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he 
opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and 
from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? 
for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for 
the transgression of my people was he stricken. And 
he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich 
in his death; because he had done no violence, neither 
was any deceit in his mouth. 

In chapter two, verse four, we are told of the glad 
day, which we are now trying to hasten, when swords 
shall be beaten into ploughshares, and spears into 
pruning-hooks — when nations shall not lift up the 
sword against nations or learn war any more. 

If the Old Testament is so fascinating what may 
we expect of the New? It is day as compared with 
dawn; it is the morning light, with which Moses and 



THE BIBLE 53 

the Prophets beat back the darkness of the night, en- 
larged — until we have the sun in its meridian glory. 
" Old things have passed away ; behold, all things are 
become new." 

The Old Testament gave us the law; the New Tes- 
tament reveals the love upon which the law rests. 
John says: "The law was given by Moses, but grace 
and truth came by Jesus Christ " (John 1: 17). The 
Old Testament restrained by a multitude of " Thou 
shalt nots " ; the New Testament awakens the monitor 
within and supplies a spiritual urge that makes the in- 
dividual find satisfaction in service and delight in 
doing good. David soothes the dying with sweet as- 
surance: *' Though I walk through the valley of the 
shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with 
me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me;'* Jesus 
inspires them with a living hope: " I go to prepare a 
place for you that where I am ye may be also." 

God is the center of gravity in the New Testament 
as in the Old, but the drawing power of Jehovah be- 
came visible in Christ; the attributes of the Father 
were revealed in the Son — the supreme Intelligence, the 
limitless power, the boundless love. Divinity sur- 
rounded Itself with human associates but spiritual en- 
thusiasm crowded out the selfish element ; His presence 
purged their souls of dross. The characters of the 
New Testament are about their Father's business all 
the time. If a Judas is base enough to betray the Sa- 
viour, even he is so overwhelmed with remorse that 
life becomes tmbearable. 

We are introduced to a new group of characters, 



54 THE BIBLE 

beginning with a Virgin with a child and ending with 
her Son upon the cross — a galaxy of men and women 
whose words and deeds have travelled into every land. 
One poor widow with two mites, wisely invested, pur- 
chased more enduring fame than any rich man was 
ever able to buy with all his money. Another, Ta- 
bitha, by interpretation called Dorcas, drew forth as 
eloquent a tribute as was ever paid. In the goodness 
of her heart she made garments for the poor, and the 
recipients, exhibiting them at her death-bed, expressed 
their gratitude in tears. The narrative suggests an 
epitaph which every Christian can earn — and who 
could desire more? viz., the night is darker because a 
life has gone out; the world is not so warm because a 
heart is cold In death. 

In John the Baptist, we have the forerunner — " the 
voice crying in the wilderness.'^ The Apostles, chosen 
from among the busy multitude, carried their habits of 
industry into their new calling; some turned from 
catching fish to become " fishers of men," while Mat- 
thew employed the accuracy of a collector of customs 
in chronicling the life of the Master. Even the weak- 
nesses of men were utilized: Thomas consecrated his 
doubts, and John, the disciple, baptized his ambition — 
each giving the Great Teacher an opportunity to use a 
fault for the enlightening of future generations. The 
latter became the most Intimate companion of the Sa- 
viour — " the disciple whom Jesus loved " and the one 
who most frequently used the word love. 

Peter and Paul stand out conspicuously among the 
exponents of early Christianity. In the case of Peter, 



THE BIBLE 55 

Christ brought an impulsive nature into complete sub- 
jection and gave a steadying purpose to an emotional 
follower. In Paul, we see a giant intellect aflame with 
a holy zeal. Both were bold interpreters of Christ's 
mission and both urged upon Christians the full gospel 
equipment. 

In his second Epistle, chapter one, Peter exhorts: 

And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith 
virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge 
temperance ; and to temperance patience ; and to patience 
godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to 
brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in 
you, and abound, they make you that you shall neither 
be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

In the sixth chapter of Ephesians, Paul pleads: 

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, 
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and 
having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your 
loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate 
of righteousness ; and your feet shod with the preparation 
of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of 
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery 
darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, 
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: 
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the 
Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and 
supplication for all saints. 

Peter was a rock, hewn into shape and polished by 
the divine hand ; Paul was a " chosen vessel " to bear 
the Redeemer's Name before " the Gentiles and kings 
and the children of Israel.'* Paul was an orator with a 



66 THE BIBLE 

purpose; he was a man with a message. He was elo- 
quent because he knew what he was talking about and 
meant what he said. No wonder, for he was called to 
service by a summons so distinct and tmmistakable that 
he turned at once from persecuting to preaching. Paul 
is responsible for one of the most inspiring sentences in 
the Bible — " I was not disobedient unto the heavenly 
vision,'* It was the key to his whole life. 

Love is not blind, declares Tolstoy; it sees what 
ought to be done and does it. So with Paul. His 
eyes were open to the truth and he saw it ; he was sensi- 
tive to the needs of the Church and his epistles are 
filled with wise counsel. He encouraged the worthy, 
admonished the erring and strengthened the weak. 
Paul knew well the secret of liberality, as shown in 
2 Corinthians 8: 5. The members of the Macedonian 
church " first gave their own selves " ; giving was easy 
after that. PauFs religion could not be shaken; read 
his vow as recorded in the eighth chapter of Romans: 

For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor 
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, 
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of 
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

His sufferings developed patience and deepened de- 
votion. They prepared him to appreciate love and to 
define it as no other mortal has done. 

His tribute to love, contained in the thirteenth chap- 
ter of 1 Corinthians, is not approached by any other 
utterance on this subject. (I use the old version with 
the word charity changed to love.) 



THE BIBLE 67 

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, 
and have not love, I am become as sounding brass or a 
tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of proph- 
ecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; 
and though I have all faith, so that I could remove 
mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though 
I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I 
give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth 
me nothing. Love suffereth long, and is kind; love 
envieth not; love vaunteth not Itself, is not puffed up, 
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is 
not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in 
iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, 
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things ; 
Love never f aileth : but whether there be prophecies they 
shall fail; whether there be tongues they shall cease; 
whether there be knowledge it shall vanish away. For 
we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when 
that which Is perfect is come, then that which is in part 
shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a 
child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but 
when I became a man, I put away childish things ; For 
now we see through a glass, darkly ; but then face to face ; 
now I know in part ; but then shall I know even as also 
I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, love, these 
three; but the greatest of these is love. 

I cannot leave the Book of Books without referring 
to one of the supreme moments that it describes. The 
Bible Is full of pictures; the painter has found It an 
inexhaustible storehouse of suggestion. All the great 
climaxes of sacred history speak to us from the canvas. 
Moses and Pharaoh, Ruth and Naomi, Daniel at the 
Belshazzar Feast and In the Lions' Den, Elijah at Mt. 
Carmel and before Ahab, Joseph and his brethren, 
David and Goliath, Mary and the Child, Jesus, the 
Prodigal Son, the Sower, the Good Samaritan, the 



58 THE BIBLE 

Rich Young Man, the Wise and the Foolish Virgins, 
Jesus in the Temple, Christ Entering Jerusalem, and 
in the Garden of Gethsemane, and The Saviour on the 
Cross — these are but a few of the word pictures that 
have inspired the artist's brush. 

But there is another picture, unsurpassed in thrilling 
power and permanent interest, namely, that presented 
by the trial of Christ — ^tragedy of tragedies, triumph 
of triumphs! 

Here, face to face, stood Pilate and Christ, the rep- 
resentatives of the two opposing forces that have ever 
contended for dominion in the world. Pilate was the 
personification of force; behind him was the Roman 
government, undisputed ruler of the then known 
world, supported by its invincible legions. Before Pi- 
late stood Christ, the embodiment of love — unarmed, 
alone. And force triumphed; they nailed Him to the 
cross, and the mob that had assembled to witness His 
sufferings, mocked and jeered and said: " He is dead.'* 
But from that day the power of Caesar waned and the 
power of Christ increased. In a few centuries the 
Roman government was gone and its legions for- 
gotten, while the Apostle of Love has become the 
greatest fact in history and the growing figure of all 
time. 

Who will estimate the Bible's value to society? It 
is our only guide. It contains milk for the young and 
nourishing food for every year of life's journey; it is 
manna for those who travel in the wilderness ; and it 
provides a staff for those who are weary with age. It 
satisfies the heart's longings for a knowledge of God ; 



THE BIBLE 59 

it gives a meaning to existence and supplies a working 
plan to each human being. 

It holds up before us ideals that are within sight of 
the weakest and the lowliest, and yet so high that the 
best and the noblest are kept with their faces turned 
ever upward. It carries the call of the Saviour to the 
remotest corners of the earth; on its pages are written 
the assurances of the present and our hopes for the 
future. 



Ill 

WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? 

THE question, What think ye of Christ? 
propounded to the Pharisees by the Saviour 
Himself, demands an answer from an in- 
creasing number as each year the circle of the Gospel's 
influence widens. It is a question that cannot be 
evaded. In every civilized land an answer is made, 
by word or act, by each individual who is confronted 
by the facts of His life. It is in the hope that I may 
be able to assist some in answering this question that I 
devote this hour to the inquiry. 

Was Christ an impostor ? Or was He deluded ? Or 
was He the promised Messiah, " the Way, the Truth, 
and the Life,'' as He declared Himself to be? 

Few have dared to accuse Him of attempting a de- 
liberate fraud upon the public. Impostors sometimes 
kill others in carrying out their plans, or to escape de- 
tection, but they do not offer themselves as a sacrifice 
for others. Christ's whole life gives the lie to the 
charge that He practiced deception. One recorded act 
would be sufficient to establish His honesty of purpose. 
In the nineteenth chapter of Matthew we read: 

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good 
Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have 
eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou 

60 



WHAT THINK YE OF CHEIST? 61 

me good? there is none good but one, that is, God; but if 
thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He 
saith unto 'him, which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no 
murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not 
steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Honour thy 
father and thy mother : and Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All 
these things have I kept from my youth up : what lack I 
yet? Jesus said unto him, K thou wilt be perfect, go and 
sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt 
have treasure in heaven : and come and follow me. But 
when the young man heard that saying, he went away 
sorrowful : for he had great possessions. 

If Christ had been an adventurer or was interested 
only in gaining a following He would have welcomed 
this young man, who was not only rich, but, according 
to Luke, a ruler. And what a splendid recommenda- 
tion the young man gave himself ; all of the command- 
ments he had kept from his youth up. How could one 
ambitious for worldly success aflford to reject such an 
applicant? But Christ would not lower the standard 
a hair's breadth even to secure the support of a rich 
young ruler who had led a blameless life. He de- 
manded the first place in the heart — a very reasonable 
demand — and, seeing in the young man's heart the first 
place occupied by love of money. He demanded the 
throne. The young man, unwilling to purchase eter- 
nal life at that price, went away sorrowing — ^his heart 
still centered on his great possessions. Of whom but 
an honest person could such a story be told ? 

Was Christ deceived ? That is the theory set forth 
in a little volume entitled "A Jewish View of Jesus " 
(published recently by the Macmillan Company). The 



62 WHAT THINK YE OF CHEISTf 

author, H. G. Emelow, pays the following high tribute 
to *' Jesus the Jew '' (and it is the most charitable view 
an orthodox Jew can hold) : 

'' Yet, these things apart, who can compute all that 
Jesus has meant to humanity ? The love He has inspired, 
the solace He has given, the good He has engendered, the 
hope and joy He has kindled — all that is unequalled in 
human history. Among the great and good that the 
human race has produced, none has even approached 
Jesus in universality of appeal and sway. He has be- 
come the most fascinating figure in history\ In Him is 
combined what is best and most enchanting and most 
mysterious in Israel — the eternal people whose child He 
was. The Jew cannot help glorying in what Jesus thus 
has meant to the world ; nor can he help hoping that Jesus 
may yet serv-e as a bond of union between Jew and 
Christian, once His teaching is better known and the bane 
of misunderstanding is at last removed from His words 
and His ideal.'' 

But could honest delusion produce a character who, 
in '' the love He has inspired,'' " the solace He has 
given," and " the hope and joy He has kindled " is 
" unequalled in human history " ? Is it not impossible 
that under a delusion one could (as Emelow says Jesus 
did) become " the most fascinating figure in history** 
— ^unapproachable in the '' universality of appeal and 
sway''? The world has been full of delusions: have 
any of them produced a character like Christ? Tol- 
stoy says that the words of Christ to His friends and 
pupils have had a hundred thousand times more in- 
fluence over the people than all the poems, odes, elegies 
and elegant epistles of the authors of that age. Lecky, 
the historian, says that " the three short years of the 



WHAT THINK YE OF CHEIST1 63 

active life of Jesus have done more to regenerate and 
soften mankind than all of the disquisitions of philos- 
ophers and all the exhortations of moralists/* Could 
this be said of a man labouring under a delusion as to 
his real character? 

What Christ said and did and was establishes His 
claims. In a conversation with Peter (Matt 16: 16), 
He approved that Apostle's answer which ascribed to 
Him the title of " Christ " (the Greek equivalent for 
Messiah) " the Son of the living God/' He not only 
approved of the answer bestowing the title but 

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art 
thou, Simon Bar-Jona: for flesh and blood hath not 
revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in 
heaven." In John 10, verse 30, He declares, " I and 
my Father are one''; in verse 36, same chapter, 
He denies that it was blasphemy to call Himself 
the Son of God. In the presence of death He re- 
fused to deny the claim (Matt. 26: 63-64). 

The deity of Christ is proven in many ways ; some 
offering one line of proof and some another. Some 
are convinced by the prophecies that found their ful- 
fillment in Christ; some give greatest weight to the 
manner of His birth and His resurrection. Still others 
lay special emphasis upon the miracles performed by 
Him. ^ There is no need of comparison ; all the proofs 
stand together and bear joint testimony to His super- 
natural character, but I find myself inclined to use the 
method of reasoning adopted by Carnegie Simpson in 
his book entitled, " The Fact of Christ." Those who 
reject Christ reject also the miraculous proofs offered 



64 WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? 

in support of His divine character, but the fact of 
Christ cannot be denied. Christ lived; that is ad- 
mitted. He taught; we have His words. He died 
upon the cross ; that we know ; and we can trace His 
blood by its cleansing power as it flows through the 
centuries. Judged by His life, His teachings, and His 
death, and the impression they have made upon the 
human race, we conclude that He was divine and that 
He has justified the titles bestowed upon Him. No 
other explanations can account for Him. Bom in a 
manger ; reared in a carpenter shop ; with no access to 
sages living and no knowledge of the wisdom of sages 
dead, except as that wisdom was recorded in the Old 
Testament, and yet when only about thirty years of 
age He gave to the world a code of morality the like of 
which the world had never known before and has not 
known since. He preached a short time, gathered 
around Him a few disciples and was crucified; His 
followers were scattered and nearly all of the conspicu- 
ous ones put to death — and yet from this beginning 
His religion spread until thousands of millions have 
taken His name upon them and millions have been 
ready to die rather than surrender the faith that 
He put into their hearts. How can you explain 
Christ? It IS easier to believe Him to be the Christ 
whose coming was foretold, the Jesus who was to save 
the people from their sins — the Son of God and Sa- 
viour of the World — than to account for Him in any 
other way. 

To those who try to measure Him by the rules that 
apply to man He is incomprehensible; but take Him 



WHAT THINK YE OF CHEIST? 66 

out of the man class and put Him in the God class and 
you can understand Him. He also can be measured 
by the work He came to perform ; it was more than a 
man's task. No man aspiring to be a God could 
have done what He did ; it required a God condescend- 
ing to be a man. 

When once His divine character is admitted we 
have an explanation that clears away all the perplex- 
ities. We can believe that He was conceived of the 
Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary. We can 
believe that He opened the eyes of the blind when 
among men — ^we see Him to-day giving a spiritual 
vision of life to those who have known only the flesh 
and the pleasures that come through the flesh. We 
can believe that He wrought miracles when upon 
earth — ^we see Him so changing hearts to-day that they 
love the things they used to hate and hate the things 
they used to love. We can even believe that at His 
touch life was called back to the body from which it 
had taken its flight — we have seen Him take men who 
had fallen so low that their own flesh and blood had 
deserted them, lift them up, wash them and fill their 
hearts with a passion for service. A Christ who can 
do that now could have broken the bonds of the tomb. 

Volumes innumerable have been written on the- 
ological distinctions, some of which have been made 
the basis of sects. The doctrine of the Trinity has 
been one of the storm centers of discussion for cen- 
turies. It is not difficult for me to believe in the 
Trinity when I see three distinct entities in each human 
being — a physical man, a mental man and a moral man- 



66 WHAT THINK YE OP CHEISTf 

They are so inseparable that one cannot exist here 
without the other, and yet they are so separate and 
distinct that one can be developed and the others left 
ixndeveloped. Who has not seen a splendidly de- 
veloped body with an ignorant brain to think for it and 
a puny spiritual life within? A weak body and an 
impoverished soul are sometimes linked to a highly 
trained mind: and an exalted character is sometimes 
found in a frail body, and even associated with a 
neglected intellect. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost, 
three in one, present no problem that need perplex 
either the learned or the unlearned. We have the evi- 
dence of the Father on every hand; the proof of the 
Son's growing influence is indisputable ; the witness of 
the Holy Ghost is to be found in the heart of every 
believer. The three act in unison. 

The fall of man is disputed by some who seem to 
find more satisfaction in the belief that they have risen 
from the brute and, therefore, are superior to their 
ancestors, than they do in the thought that man has 
fallen from a higher estate. But the facts do not 
support the brute theory. Even if the " missing links '* 
could be found, it would be as reasonable — ^though not 
so flattering to man*s pride — ^to believe that the 
monkey is a degenerate man as that man is an im- 
proved monkey. 

It has often been pointed out as evidence of man's 
fall that he is the only created thing that does not live 
up to his possibilities. In plant and bird and beast 
there is no disobedience — all fulfill the purpose of their 
creation, from the flower, that puts forth its bloom as 



WHAT THINK YE OF CHEISTI 67 

perfectly when it " wastes its sweetness on the desert 
air'' as when in the garden its beauty calls forth 
expressions of delight, to the bird that wakes the 
echoes of trackless forests with its melody. Man, 
only man, mocks his Maker by prostituting to evil the 
powers that might lift him within sight of the throne 
of God. 

If so many men and women fall now, in spite of 
light and love and all the incentives to noble living, is 
it incredible that the first pair should have fallen when 
the race was young? Possibility becomes probability 
when we remember that the conflict that rages be- 
tween the mind and the heart is the one real conflict 
in every life. Reason versus faith is the great issue 
to-day as in Eden. Faith says obey; reason asks. 
Why? The one looks up confidingly to a Power 
above ; the other relies on self and rejects even the au- 
thority of Jehovah unless the finite mind can compre- 
hend the plan of the Infinite. 

No one will doubt the doctrine of original sin if he 
will study nature and then analyze himself. In the 
plant, in the animal and in the physical man, the in- 
visible thing which we call life is the only sustaining 
force ; when it takes its flight, that which remains falls 
back to the earth and becomes dust. And so the spiri- 
tual in man is the only force that can give him a moral 
nature and preserve it from decay ; when his spiritual 
life departs the mind as well as the body rots. 

Some find a stumbling block in the doctrine of the 
Atonement. That one should suffer for others, shocks 
their sense of justice, they say, and yet that is the law 



68 WHAT THINK YE OF CHEISTt 

of life. Each generation borrows from generations 
past and pays the debt to the generations that follow. 
A certain percentage of the mothers die in childbirth — 
evidence that they are God's handiwork is found in 
the fact they so willingly enter the valley of the 
shadow of death to attain to motherhood. Many a 
boy has been won back to rectitude by the sorrows of 
a parent ; we are not infrequently healed by the stripes 
that fall on others. In fact, great wrongs are seldom 
righted without the shedding of innocent blood — one 
dies and a multitude are saved. These do not always 
illustrate the voluntary laying down of life but there 
are enough cases of noble surrender of self for a friend 
or for the public to make it easy for any one to under- 
stand how Christ could take upon Himself the sins of 
the world and become man's intercessor with the Fa- 
ther. Winning hearts through love expressed in sac- 
rifice, is that strange ? On the contrary, it is the only 
way. It is because the story of Jesus is a natural one 
that it has touched mankind. Hearts understand each 
other. The heart, says Pascal, has reasons that the 
mind does not understand because the heart is of an 
infinitely higher character. 

The sacrificial character of Christ's death and the 
atoning power of His blood are the basis of the New 
Testament. To discard this doctrine is to reject the 
plainest teachings of the Apostles and the words of 
Christ Himself. 

Peter, than whom there is no higher human author- 
ity, says (1 Peter 2: 24) : " Who his own self bare our 
sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to 



WHAT THINK YE OP CHRIST? 69 

sins, should live unto righteousness ; by whose stripes 
ye were healed.'* 

John, the Beloved, speaks as clearly on this subject 
(John 3: 16-17) : " For God so loved the world, that 
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believ- 
eth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn 
the world; but that the world through him might be 
saved." Paul was equally emphatic; he says (1 Cor. 
2:2):" For I determined not to know anything among 
you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified." And again 
(1 Cor. 1: 30): "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus 
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteous- 
ness, and sanctification and redemption." 

But we have higher authority still — we have the 
words of Christ Himself. At the last supper, with 
His disciples about Him, He spoke of His blood being 
" shed for many for the remission of sins." 

It is the story of His sacrifice for others — of His 
blood shed that the world might through Him find for- 
giveness — ^that has been understood by the unlettered 
as well as by scholars and has brought millions to the 
foot of the cross. Even those who have not been in 
position to compare His code of morals with the teach- 
ings of others have been able to comprehend a plan of 
salvation by which one died for all and all find forgive- 
ness in His sacrifice. It is this Gospel that has made 
It possible for the forgiven sinner to go forth to begin 
a new life, no longer under conviction of sin and re- 
membering his past only as an incentive to service. 

The presence of Judas at the Last Supper has been 



70 WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST! 

the cause of much speculation throughout the cen- 
turies. The indignation of Christians is stirred at the 
thought of a traitor being present on this solemn occa- 
sion when Christ instituted one of the great sacraments 
of the Church. The Saviour not only knew what 
Judas was about to do but called attention to it and 
designated the guilty one, but there was no appearance 
of the anger which would be natural in a mortal ; He 
knew the plan of salvation. 

But why should the betrayal have come from one of 
the twelve? It is not necessary to find a satisfactory 
answer to all the questions that may arise from the 
reading of the Bible, and the finite mind should not be 
discouraged if it fails to fathom the reasons of the 
Infinite Intelligence. If there are mysteries in the 
Bible that we cannot unravel they are not greater than 
the mysteries In nature with which we must deal 
whether we understand them or not 

But I venture to suggest one effect, produced by the 
fact that one of the twelve proved a traitor, namely, 
the scrutiny that it has compelled millions of Chris- 
tians to turn upon themselves. " Lord, is it I ? " each 
of the disciples anxiously inquired. Even Judas him- 
self, coerced by the action of the others, asked, " Mas- 
ter, IS it I? " So, to-day, there is real betrayal of the 
Saviour by some who take His name upon them and 
before the world profess to be His followers. If 
Judas had been an outsider and had sold for money the 
knowledge he had gained as a looker-on his name 
would not have become, as the name of Judas has, a 
synonym for all that is base and contemptible ; and the 



WHAT THINK YE OP CHEISTf 71 

Christian world would have been without the benefit 
of that glaring act of perfidy that has sounded its 
warning through nineteen centuries. Judas sold the 
Saviour for money, just as many a professing Chris- 
tian since then has, for money, betrayed the Master. 
Who will calculate the restraint that that one question, 
" Lord, is it I ? " has exerted upon Christ's followers 
in the hour when some great temptation has made the 
believer hesitate upon the brink of sin? 

I will not attempt to enumerate all the ways in which 
Christ has and can bless mankind, but the living spring 
has taught me one way. The spring is the best illus- 
tration of the Christian life, just as a stagnant pool is 
the best illustration of a selfish life. The pool receives 
but gives forth nothing in return and, at last, becomes 
the center of disease and death. There is nothing 
more repulsive than the stagnant pool except a life 
built upon that plan. The spring, on the other hand, 
pours forth constantly of that which refreshes and in- 
vigorates and asks for nothing. There is nothing 
more inspiring than a living spring except the life that 
it resembles. 

And why is the spring a spring? Because it is con-- 
nected with a source that is higher than itself. Christ 
brings man into such vital, living contact with God that 
the goodness of God flows out to the world through 
him. The frailest human being can thus become of 
inestimable value to society. It is only spiritual power, 
received from above, that counts largely. If we meas- 
ure man in units of physical power he is not much 
above the beasts ; if we measure him in units of intel- 



72 WHAT THINK YE OF CHEIST? 

lectual power we soon reach his limitations, but when 
we measure him in units of spiritual power his 
strength may be beyond human calculations. If, as 
was the case in Wales, the prayer of a little girl could 
start a revival that spread over that country, resulting 
in the conversion of thousands, what can a life accom- 
plish if one's heart is full of love to God and man? 

The wisdom of Christ could not have been supplied 
by others ; there were none to supply it. There was no 
source but the inexhaustible fountain of the Almighty 
from which to draw that which He gave forth *' as one 
having authority." "Who among His Apostles or 
proselytes,'' asks John Stuart Mill, "was capable of 
inventing the sayings ascribed to Jesus or of imagining 
the life and character revealed in the Gospels? '^ 

No person, less than divine, could have carried the 
message or rendered the service He did to mankind. 
How, for instance, could He have learned from His 
own experience or from His environment the startling 
proposition that He embodied in His interpretation of 
The Parable of the Sower ? " The care of this world 
and the deceitfulness of riches choke the truth," and 
yet in that short sentence He gave an epitome of all 
human history. Reforms come up from the oppressed, 
not down from the oppressors — a fact which Christ 
explains in a word. 

He announced the divine order: " Seek ye first the 
kingdom of God and his righteousness." Duty to God 
comes first — all other things that are good for us will 
come in due time. 

His parables stand alone in literature ; they have no 



WHAT THINK YE OP CHEIST? 73 

parallel in the expression of great truths with beauty 
and simplicity through object lessons taken from 
every-day life. These truths covered a wide range 
and were embedded in the language of the parable be- 
cause of the tmbelief of that day. They are increas- 
ingly appreciated as their practical application to all 
time becomes more and more manifest. 

The parable of the Prodigal Son is the most beauti- 
ful story of its kind ever told and is based on an ex- 
perience through which nearly every person passes, but 
few of whom, fortunately, carry the spirit of rebellion 
to the point of leaving home. At that period which 
marks the transition from youth to maturity — from 
dependence on others to ^elf-reliance — rebelliousness is 
likely to be exhibited to a greater or less extent even 
where the parents have done everything possible for 
the child. Christ takes an extreme case where the 
wisdom and experience of the father were scorned; 
where a wilful son insisted upon learning for himself 
of the things against which the father had warned him. 
He was of age ; parental authority could no longer be 
exerted for his protection. He had his way, and as 
long as his money lasted he found plenty of associates 
willing to help him spend It ; the '' boys " had what the 
wicked call " a good time.'' Then came the sobering 
up, the repentance, the humility, the return, the father's 
welcome, the very natural complaint of the other son 
and the parental rebuke — all so lifelike and all designed 
to give emphasis to the love of the Heavenly Father 
and the joy in Heaven when a wanderer returns. How 
many souls it has awakened ! The thought has been 



74 WHAT THINK YE OP CHEISTf 

beautifully translated into song by Rev. Robt. Lowry, 
in " Where Is My Wandering Boy To-night? '* which 
has probably touched more hearts than any sermon de- 
livered since the song was written in 1877. 

In passing, note the contrast between the Rich Young 
Man and the Prodigal Son. The former, an exem- 
plary youth, is lost because he put the love of money 
first — we see his back as he retires into oblivion. The 
latter, a reckless sinner, repentant and forgiven; we 
leave him at a banquet, happy with father and friends 
who rejoice that one who " was dead is alive again/* 

The parable of The Talents has shamed a multitude 
into activity, while the parable of The Vineyard has 
been an encouragement to those who have neglected 
early calls to service. He used the great preservative, 
salt, to illustrate the saving influence His followers 
would exert on society and warned them not to lose 
this quality. He likened them to a city set on a hill 
and to the light that illumines the entire house. 

Christ gave the world a philosophy that fits into 
every human need ; He sounded all the depths. In the 
first and third of the Beatitudes He exalts humility — a 
virtue difficult to cultivate, and even to retain after one 
has cultivated it. Some one has suggested that pride 
is such an insidious sin that the humble sometimes be- 
come proud of their humility. Christ sets two prizes 
before the humble — the poor in spirit are to have the 
Kingdom of Heaven for their recompense while 
the meek are to be given the earth for their inherit- 
ance. 

The mourners are to be comforted and the merciful 



WHAT THINK YE OP CHEIST? 76 

are to obtain mercy. Righteousness is to be the re- 
ward of those who hunger and thirst after it, and the 
peacemakers are to be crowned with one of the most 
honourable of appellations, the children of God. 

He devotes double space to those who are reviled 
and persecuted for His sake, foreseeing the fierce op- 
position which His Gospel would arouse. In the study 
of the Beatitudes one Sunday, I asked the members of 
an adult class which they considered first in impor- 
tance. Although there was quite a wide difference in 
preference, the Sixth, " Blessed are the pure in heart, 
for they shall see God,'' received the highest vote. 
And what can be more important than the cleansing of 
the heart of all that obstructs one's view of God ? The 
Creator is equally near to all His creatures — He is no 
respecter of persons. It is man's fault if he allows 
anything to come between himself and the Heavenly 
Father. Surely, nothing is more to be desired than 
the unclouded vision. "Thou shalt have no other 
gods before me,'' is the first of the Commandments 
brought down from Sinai and its primacy is endorsed 
by the Saviour: the sixth Beatitude expresses the same 
supreme requirement. No false gods, not even self — 
the most popular of all the false gods^ — ^must be per- 
mitted to come between man and his Maker. 

Christ put into simple words some of the great rules 
for the interpretation of life. " By their fruits ye 
shall know them," has become a part of the language 
of the civilized world. "Do men gather grapes of 
thorns, or figs of thistles? " He asks. "A good tree 
cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree 



76 WHAT THINK YE OF CHEISTf 

bring forth good fruit." Here a great spiritual prin- 
ciple was announced. We must consider the nature; 
nothing less than a change in the nature can change the 
fruit. A bad heart is just as sure to bring forth bad 
thoughts and bad deeds as the thistle is to bring forth 
thorns. And so the good heart is just as sure to yield 
good deeds as the grape-vine is to yield grapes or the 
fig-tree is to yield figs. Look at the tree, therefore; 
the fruit will take care of itself. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, in which He embodied 
such a wealth of moral precept and spiritual counsel, 
He warned against investments in that which would 
divert the affections from the great purpose of life. 
" Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay 
up for yourselves treasures in heaven." " For where 
your treasure is, there will your heart be also." It was 
the heart that He dealt with — always the heart, in 
which man does his decisive thinking and out of which 
are " the issues of life." 

The Master dealt with the beginnings of evil. He 
did not wait until the sin had been completed or the 
wrong accomplished. He cut out the bad purpose at 
its birth before it had time to develop. He says: 

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast 
it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy 
members should perish, and not that thy whole body 
should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend 
thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee : for it is profitable 
for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not 
that thy whole body should be cast into hell (Matt. 3 : 29). 

This may seem like a harsh doctrine and yet it is 



WHAT THINK YE OF CHEISTf 77 

merely an application to morals of a salutary principle 
that all understand when applied by the surgeon. A 
finger is often removed in order to save the hand; a 
hand is removed to save the arm; and an arm is re- 
moved to save the body. An eye, too, is often re- 
moved to save the sight of the remaining eye. Is eye 
or arm or body more important than the soul ? 

Christ understood relative values in the spiritual 
world. He used the material things in life to illustrate 
values in the realm of the ideal; He used the things 
that are seen to make understandable the eternal things 
that the senses cannot comprehend. 

And what called forth this powerful illustration — 
the sacrificing of the right eye and the right hand to 
save the body? He was laying the foundation for a 
great moral reform, namely, the single standard of 
morality. He was attacking a great sin and, as usual, 
He laid the axe at the root of the tree. He was deal- 
ing with adultery and He traced the sin to its source. 
He would purge the heart of the unclean thought ; He 
would put a ban on the desire before it found vent in 
accomplishment. He turned the thought from the 
body to the heart and to the soul. 

And He not only warned men against harbouring 
the seeds of this sin but He rebuked them for Injustice 
in dealing more harshly with woman than they did 
with themselves. He did not condone sin; He for- 
gave it, and accompanied forgiveness with the injunc- 
tion, " Sin no more." 

Christ dignified childhood next to womanhood. One 
of His most beautiful lessons was woven about a child 



78 WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST ? 

which He summoned from the crowd. The child's 
faith was made the test — *' Except ye be converted and 
become as Httle children ye shall not enter into the 
kingdom." And again, ** Suffer the little children to 
come unto me and forbid them not: for of such is the 
kingdom of heaven/' 

His depth of affection — His longing for souls — is 
beautifully set forth in Matthew 23: 37 when He uses 
the most familiar object in the animal kingdom to ex- 
press His solicitude : " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou 
that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are 
sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy 
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens 
under her wings, and ye would not ! '' 

And yet this gentle spirit who would not break a 
bruised reed — who went about doing good — ^was wont 
to blaze forth with hot indignation against sordidness 
and systematized injustice. Hear His fierce denuncia- 
tion of the " scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites '' who 
devoured widows' houses and for a pretense made long 
prayers; and behold Him casting the money-changers 
out of the temple because they had turned the house of 
prayer into a den of thieves. 

In a startling paradox He sets forth a great truth: 
** Whosoever shall save his life shall lose it; but who- 
soever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall 
save it." When, before or since, has the littleness of 
the self -centered been so exposed and the nobility of 
self-surrender been so glorified? Wendell Phillips has 
given a splendid paraphrase of this wonderful utter- 
ance. He says, " How prudently most men sink into 



WHAT THINK YE OP CHEIST? 79 

nameless graves, while now and then a few forget 
themselves into immortality." 

But the one doctrine which more than any other dis- 
tinguished His teachings from those of uninspired in- 
structors, is forgiveness. Time and again He brings 
it forward and lays emphasis upon it. In the very be- 
ginning of His ministry He drew a contrast between 
the perverted morals of that day and the spiritual life 
into which He would lead them (Matt. 5) : 

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love 
thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say tmto 
you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do 
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which 
despitefully use you and persecute you ; That ye may be 
the children of your Father which is in heaven, for he 
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and 
sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love 
them which love you, what reward have ye ? Do not even 
the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren 
only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the 
publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your 
Father which is in heaven is perfect. 

A little later, He embodies the thought in the Lord's 
Prayer — ^^ Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive 
those who trespass against us." He follows that with 
a scathing arraignment of the cruel servant, who, hav- 
ing been forgiven a debt almost incalculable in amount, 
refused to forgive a small debt due to him. Even 
when in agony upon the cross the thought of forgive- 
ness was uppermost in the Saviour's heart and He 
prayed: "Father, forgive them, for they know not 
what they do!" 

He was not thinking of relief to wrong-doers when 



80 WHAT THINK YE OF CHEIST? 

He made forgiveness a cardinal principle in the moral 
code that He promulgated. It was not, I am per- 
suaded, to shield from just punishment one who does 
injury to another, but to save the injured from the 
paralyzing influence of the thirst for revenge. It is 
only rarely that one has an opportunity to retaliate, but 
the desire for retaliation is a soul-destroying disease. 
Christ would purge the heart of hatred and make love 
the law of life. 

Christianity has been called "The Gospel of the 
Second Chance '^ ; it is more than that. There is no 
limit to the chances that it offers to the repentant. 
When Christ was asked whether one should forgive a 
brother seven times He answered, " Seventy times 
seven." Christianity is the only hope of the discour- 
aged and the despondent. Walter Malone has put into 
a poem entitled " Opportunity '^ the exhaustless mercy 
that Christ holds out to men. I quote the concluding 
stanzas : 

Though deep in mire, wring not your hands and weep : 
I lend my arm to all who say " I can '* ; 

No shamefaced outcast ever sank so deep 
But he might rise and be again a man ! 

Dost thou behold thy lost youth all aghast ? 

Dost reel from righteous retribution's blow ? 
Then turn from blotted archives of the past, 

And find the future's pages white as snow. 

Art thou a mourner ? Rouse thee from thy spell ; 

Art thou a sinner ? Sins may be forgiven. 
Each morning gives thee wings to flee from hell, 

Each night a star to guide thy feet to heaven. 



WHAT THINK YE OF CHEISTf 81 

When the Heavenly Father reserved to Himself the 
right to avenge injuries He conferred an incalculable 
benefit upon mankind, just as He did when He im- 
posed upon the organs of the body the task of keeping 
us alive. Not a heart could beat, nor could the lungs 
expand if their movement had been left to the volun- 
tary act of man. But God has relieved His creatures 
of concern about blood and breath that man, freed 
from a labour beyond his strength, may employ his 
time in the service of his Maker. And so man is re- 
lieved from the impossible task of avenging wrongs 
done him that he may devote himself to the public 
weal. 

I shall at another time speak of some of the present- 
day fruits of this doctrine taught nineteen centuries 
ago ; I present it now as one of the most difficult of the 
Christian virtues to cultivate, but one of the most pro- 
lific in the blessings that it bestows. It contributes 
largely to the securing of peace, and Christ is the 
Prince of Peace. 

All the world is in search of peace ; every heart that 
ever beat has sought for peace and many have been the 
methods employed to secure it. Some have thought to 
purchase it with riches and they have laboured to se- 
cure wealth, hoping to find peace when they were able 
to go where they pleased and buy what they liked. Of 
those who have endeavoured to purchase peace with 
money, the large majority have failed to secure the 
money. But what has been the experience of those 
who have been successful in accumulating money? 
They all tell the same story, viz., that they spent the 



82 WHAT THINK YE OF CHEIST! 

first half of their lives trying to get money from others 
and the last half trying to keep others from getting 
their money and that they found peace in neither half. 
Some have even reached the point where they find dif- 
ficulty in getting worthy institutions to accept their 
money; and I know of no better indication of the 
ethical awakening in this country than the increasing 
tendency to scrutinize the methods of money-making. 
A long step in advance will have been taken when re- 
ligious, educational and charitable institutions refuse 
to condone immoral methods in business and leave the 
possessor of ill-gotten gains to learn the loneliness of 
life when one prefers money to morals. 

Some have sought peace in social distinctions, but 
whether they have been within the charmed circle and 
fearful lest they might fall out, or outside and hopeful 
that they might get in, they have not found peace. 

Some have thought, vain thought! to find peace in 
political prominence ; but whether office comes by birth, 
as in monarchies, or by election, as in republics, it does 
not bring peace. An office is conspicuous only when 
few can occupy it. Only when few in a generation 
can hope to enjoy an honour do w^e call it a great 
honour. I am glad that our Heavenly Father did not 
make the peace of the human heart to depend upon the 
accumulation of wealth, or upon the securing of social 
or political distinction, for in either case but few could 
have enjoyed it. When He made peace the reward of 
a conscience void of offense toward God and man. He 
put it within the reach of all. The poor can secure it 
as easily as the rich, the social outcast as freely as the 



WHAT THINK YE OF CHEIST? 83 

leader in society, and the humblest citizen equally with 
those who wield political power. 

" Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon 
you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in 
heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my 
yoke is easy, and my burden is light '' (Matt. 11: 28- 
30). 

Here is a call to all — to every human being. No 
one is beyond the reach of Jesus' love. The yoke is 
the emblem of service and service is the price of hap- 
piness. We wear many yokes in common — the yoke 
of society, the yoke of government, and the yoke of 
custom, not to speak of a multitude of yokes that are 
individual. Wherever the Gospel has been carried 
there are two yokes between which a choice must be 
made — the devil's yoke and the yoke of the Master. 

Let no one be deceived — if the devil would tempt the 
Saviour Himself, will he not tempt you? Satan's 
service is alluring — it begins in pleasure and ends in 
sorrow — " the dead are there ! '* Christ's service be- 
gins in duty and ends in delight — " Blessed is the man 
who endureth temptation." The devil's path is like a 
forest road at eventide; It grows darker and darker 
until all is lost in the blackness of the night. Christ's 
path leads from darkness into light. 

" He is risen! " What inspiration in these words! 
Nature proclaims a life beyond the grave, but Christ 
proves it by His resurrection. Nature gives circum- 
stantial evidence that would seem conclusive; but 
Christ is the living witness whose testimony establishes 



84 WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST t 

beyond controversy that the mortal can put on immor- 
taHty. He comforts those who mourn; He dispels the 
gloom by making death but a narrow, star-lit strip be- 
tween the companionship of yesterday and the reunion 
of to-morrow. Christ not only gives us assurance of 
immortality but He adds the promise of His return. 
As He ascended in like manner will He come again. 

"And, lo, he goeth before you into Galilee." Yes, 
He is still going on before — still leading, and His lead- 
ership will continue until time shall be no more. 

The growth of Christianity from its beginning on 
the banks of the Jordan, until to-day, when its converts 
are baptized in every part of the world, is so graph- 
ically described by Dr. Charles Edward Jefferson, in 
his book entitled " Things Fundamental," that I take 
the liberty of giving the following extracts: 

" Christ in history ! There is a fact — face it. Accord- 
ing to the New Testament, Jesus walked along the shores 
of a little sea known as the Sea of Galilee. And there 
He called Peter and Andrew and James and John and 
several others to be His followers, and they left all and 
followed Him. After they had followed Him they re- 
vered Him, and later on adored and worshipped Him. 
He left them on their faces, each man saying, * My Lord 
and my God ! ' All that is in the New Testament. 

" But put the New Testament away. Time passes ; 
history widens; an unseen Presence walks up and down 
the shores of a larger sea, the sea called the Mediter- 
ranean — and this unseen Presence calls men to follow 
Him . . . — another twelve — and these all followed 
Him and cast themselves at His feet, saying, in the 
words of the earlier twelve, ' My Lord and my God ! ' 

" Time passes ; history advances ; humanity lives its 
life around the circle of a larger sea — the Atlantic Ocean. 



WHAT THINK YE OP CHEISTf 85 

An unseen Presence walks up and down the shores call- 
ing men to follow Him. . . . — another twelve — and 
these leave all and follow Him. We find them on their 
faces, each one saying, ' My Lord and my God ! ' 

" Time passes ; history is widening ; himianity is build- 
ing its civilization around a still wider sea — we call it the 
Pacific Ocean. An unknown Presence moves up and 
down the shores calling men to follow Him, and they are 
doing it. Another company of twelve is forming. And 
what took place in Palestine nineteen centuries ago is 
taking place again in our own day and under our own 
eyes." 

I conclude by calling attention to the comprehensive- 
ness of Christ's authority. After His crucifixion and 
resurrection^ — in His last conference with His follow- 
ers — He announces His boldest claim to power univer- 
sal and perpetual (Matt. 28) : 

. . . All power is given unto me in heaven and in 
earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to observe all things 
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with 
you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. 

Here is a Gospel intended for every human being; 
here is a code of morals that is to endure for all time; 
here is a solution for every problem that can vex a 
heart or perplex a world, and back of these is all power 
in Heaven and in Barth. 

The word all is used four times in a few sentences. 
There Is nothing in reserve. We have the final word 
in religion — ^Jesus Christ for all, and for all time — 
" The same yesterday, and to-day and forever.'' 



IV 
THE ORIGIN OP MAN 

WHEN the mainspring is broken a watch 
ceases to be useful as a timekeeper. A 
handsome case may make it still an orna- 
ment and the parts may have a market value, but it 
cannot serve the purpose of a watch. There is that 
in each human life that corresponds to the mainspring 
of a watch — that which is absolutely necessary if the 
life is to be what it should be, a real life and not a 
mere existence. That necessary thing is a belief in 
God, Religion is defined as the relation between God 
and man, and Tolstoy has described morality as the 
outward expression of this inward relationship. 

If it be true, as I believe it is, that morality is de- 
pendent upon religion, then religion is not only the 
most practical thing in the world, but the first es- 
sential. Without religion, viz., a sense of depend- 
ence upon God and reverence for Him, one can play 
a part in both the physical and the intellectual world, 
but he cannot live up to the possibilities which God 
has placed within the reach of each human being. 

A belief in God is fundamental; upon it rest the in- 
fluences that control life. * ^ 

First, the consciousness of God's presence in the life 
gives one a sense of responsibility to the Creator for 
every thought and word and deed. 

86 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 87 

Second, prayer rests upon a belief in God; com- 
munion with the Creator in the expression of gratitude 
and in pleas for guidance powerfully influences man. 

Third, belief in a personal immortality rests upon 
faith in God; the inward restraint that one finds in a 
faith that looks forward to a future life with its re- 
wards and punishments, makes outward restraint less 
necessary. Man is weak enough in hours of tempta- 
tion, even when he is fortified by the conviction that 
this life is but a small arc of an infinite circle; his 
power of resistance is greatly impaired if he accepts 
the doctrine that conscious existence terminates with 
death. 

Fourth, the spirit of brotherhood rests on a belief 
in God. We trace our relationship to our fellowmen 
through the Creator, the Common Parent of us all. 

Fifth, belief in the Bible depends upon a belief in 
God. Jehovah comes first; His word comes after- 
ward. There can be no inspiration without a Heavenly 
Father to inspire. 

Sixth, belief in God is also necessary to a belief in 
Christ; the Son could not have revealed the Father 
to man according to any atheistc theory. And so with 
all other Christian doctrines: they rest upon a belief 
in God. 

If belief in God is necessary to the beliefs enumer- 
ated, then itjFollows logically that anything that weak- 
ens belief in God weakens man, and, to the extent that 
it impairs belief in God, reduces his power to measure 
up to his opportunities and responsibilities. If there 
is at work in the world to-day anything that tends to 



88 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

break this mainspring, it is the duty of the moral, as 
well as the Christian, world to combat this influence 
in every possible way. 

I believe there is such a menace to fundamental 
morality. The hypothesis to which the name of Dar- 
win has been given — the hypothesis that links man to 
the lower forms of life and makes him a lineal de- 
scendant of the brute — is obscuring God and weaken- 
ing all the virtues that rest upon the religious tie be- 
tween God and man. Passing over, for the present, 
all other phases of evolution and considering only that 
part of the system which robs man of the dignity con- 
ferred upon him by separate creation, when God 
breathed into him the breath of life and he became the 
first man, I venture to call attention to the demoraliz- 
ing influence exerted by this doctrine. 

If we accept the Bible as true we have no difficulty 
in determining the origin of man. In the first chap- 
ter of Genesis we read that God, after creating all 
other things, said, " Let us make man in our image, 
after our likeness ; and let him have dominion over the 
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over 
the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creep- 
ing thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God cre- 
ated man in his own image, in the image of God cre- 
ated he him ; male and female created he them.'' 

The materialist has always rejected the Bible ac- 
count of Creation and, during the last half century, 
the Darwinian doctrine has been the means of shaking 
the faith of millions. It is important that man should 
have a correct understanding of his line of descent 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 89 

Huxley calls it the " question of questions " for man- 
kind. He says: "The problem which underlies all 
others, and is more interesting than any other — is the 
ascertainment of the place which man occupies in na- 
ture and of his relation to the universe of things. 
Whence our race has come, what are the limits of our 
power over nature, and of nature's power over us, to 
what goal are we tending, are the problems which pre- 
sent themselves anew with undiminished interest to 
every man born in the world." 

The materialists deny the existence of God and seek 
to explain man's presence upon the earth without a 
creative act. They go back from man to the animals, 
and from one form of life to another until they come 
to the first germ of life; there they divide into two 
schools, some believing that the first germ of life came 
from another planet, others holding that it was the 
result of spontaneous generation. One school answers 
the arguments advanced by the other and, as they can- 
not agree with each other, I am not compelled to agree 
with either. 

If it were necessary to accept one of these theories 
I would prefer the first ; for, if we can chase the germ 
of life off of this planet and out Into space, we can 
guess the rest of the way and no one can contradict 
us. But, if we accept the doctrine of spontaneous gen- 
eration we will have to spend our time explaining why 
spontaneous generation ceased to act after the first 
germ of life was created. It is not necessary to pay 
much attention to any theory that boldly eliminates 
God; it does not deceive many. The mind revolts at 



90 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

the idea of spontaneous generation; in all the researches 
of the ages no scientist has found a single instance of 
life that was not begotten by life. The materialist has 
nothing but imagination to build upon; he cannot hope 
for company or encouragement. 

But the Darwinian doctrine is more dangerous be- 
cause more deceptive. It permits one to believe in a 
God, but puts the creative act so far away that rever- 
ence for the Creator — even belief in Him — is likely to 
be lost. 

Before commenting on the Darwinian hypothesis 
let me refer you to the language of its author as it 
applies to man. On page 180 of " Descent of Man '' 
(Hurst & Company, Edition 1874), Darwin says: 
"Our most ancient progenitors in the kingdom 
of the Vertebrata, at which we are able to obtain 
an obscure glance, apparently consisted of a group 
of marine animals, resembling the larvse of the 
existing Ascidians." Then he suggests a line of de- 
scent leading to the monkey. And he does not even 
permit us to indulge in a patriotic pride of ancestry; 
instead of letting us descend from American monkeys, 
he connects us with the European branch of the mon- 
key family. 

It will be noted, first, that he begins the summary 
with the word " apparently," which the Standard Dic- 
tionary defines: " as judged by appearances, without 
passing upon its reality.'' His second sentence (fol- 
lowing the sentence quoted) turns upon the word 
" probably,*' which is defined: " as far as the evidence 
shows, presumably, likely.*' His works are full of 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 91 

words indicating uncertainty. The phrase " we may 
well suppose/* occurs over eight hundred times in his 
two principal works. (See Herald & Presbyter, 
November 22, 1914.) The eminent scientist is guess- 
ing. 

- After locating our gorilla and chimpanzee ancestors 
in Africa, he concludes that " it is useless to speculate 
on this subject." If the uselessness of speculation had 
occurred to him at the beginning of his investigation 
he might have escaped responsibility for shaking the 
faith of two generations by his guessing on the whole 
subject of biology. 

If we could divide the human race into two distinct 
groups we might allow evolutionists to worship brutes 
as ancestors but they insist on connecting all mankind 
with the jungle. We have a right to protect our fam- 
ily tree. 

Having given Darwin^s conclusions as to man's an- 
cestry, I shall quote him to prove that his hypothesis is 
not only groundless, but absurd and harmful to so- 
ciety. It is groundless because there is not a single fact 
in the universe that can be cited to prove that man is 
descended from the lower animals. Darwin does not 
use facts; he uses conclusions drawn from similarities. 
He builds upon presumptions, probabilities and infer- 
ences, and asks the acceptance of his hypothesis " not- 
withstanding the fact that connecting links have not 
hitherto been discovered*' (page 162). He advances 
an hypothesis which, if true, would find support on 
every foot of the earth's surface, but which, as a mat- 
ter of fact, finds support nowhere. There are myriads 



92 THE OEIGIN OP MAN 

of living creatures about us, from insects too small 
to be seen with the naked eye to the largest mammals, 
and, yet, not one is in transition from one species to 
another; every one is perfect. It is strange that 
slight similarities could make him ignore gigantic dif- 
ferences. The remains of nearly one hundred species 
of vertebrate life have been found in the rocks, of 
which more than one-half are found living to-day, and 
none of the survivors show material change. The 
word hypothesis is a synonym used by scientists for 
the word guess ; it is more dignified in sound and more 
imposing to the sight, but it has the same meaning as 
the old-fashioned, every-day word, guess. If Darwin 
had described his doctrine as a guess instead of calling 
it an hypothesis, it would not have lived a year."* 

Probably nothing impresses Darwin more than the 
fact that at an early stage the foetus of a child cannot 
be distinguished from the foetus of an ape, but why 

^Dr. Etheridge, Fossiologist of the British Museum, says: 
" Nine-tenths of the talk of Evolutionists is sheer nonsense, not 
founded on observation and wholly unsupported by facts. This 
museum is full of proofs of the utter falsity of their views." 

Prof. Beale, of King's College, London, says: "In support of 
all naturalistic conjectures concerning man's origin, there is not 
at this time a shadow of scientific evidence." 

Prof. Fleischmann, of Erlangen, says : " The Darwinian theory 
has in the realms of Nature not a single fact to confirm it. It is 
not the result of scientific research, but purely the product of 
the imagination." 

The January issue of " Science," 1922, contains a speech de- 
livered at Toronto last December by Prof. William Bateson of 
London before the American Association for the Advancement 
of Science. He says that science has faith in evolution but 
doubts as to the origin of species. 



THE OEIGIN OF MAK 93 

should such a similarity in the beginning impress him 
more than the difference at birth and the immeasurable 
gulf between the two at forty? If science cannot de- 
tect a difference, known to exist, between the foetus 
of an ape and the foetus of a child, it should not 
ask us to substitute the inferences, the presump- 
tions and the probabilities of science for the word of 
God. 

Science has rendered invaluable service to society; 
her achievements are innumerable — and the hypotheses 
of scientists should be considered with an open mind. 
Their theories should be carefully examined and their 
arguments fairly weighed, but the scientist cannot 
compel acceptance of any argument he advances, ex- 
cept as, judged upon its merits, it is convincing. Man 
is infinitely more than science ; science, as well as the 
Sabbath, was made for man. It must be remembered, 
also, that all sciences are not of equal importance. 
Tolstoy insists that the science of " How to Live " is 
more important than any other science, and is this not 
true? It is better to trust in the Rock of Ages, than to 
know the age of the rocks ; it is better for one to know 
that he is close to the Heavenly Father, than to know 
how far the stars in the heavens are apart. And is it 
not just as important that the scientists who deal with 
matter should respect the scientists who deal with 
spiritual things, as that the latter should respect the 
former? If it be true, as Paul declares, that "the 
things that are seen are temporal " while " the things 
that are unseen are eternal,'* why should those who 
deal with temporal things think themselves superior to 



94 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

\ those who deal with the things that are eternal ? Why 
should the Bible, which the centuries have not been 
able to shake, be discarded for scientific works that 
have to be revised and corrected every few years? 
The preference should be given to the Bible. 

The two lines of work are parallel. There should 
be no conflict between the discoverers of real truths, 
because real truths do not conflict. Every truth har- 
monizes with every other truth, but why should an 
hypothesis, suggested by a scientist, be accepted as true 
until its truth is established? Science should be the 
last to make such a demand because science to be truly 
science is classified knowledge ; it is the explanation of 
facts. Tested by this definition, Darwinism is not 
science at all; it is guesses strung together. There is 
more science in the twenty-fourth verse of the first 
chapter of Genesis (And God said, let the earth bring 
forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and 
creeping things, and beast of the earth after his kind; 
and it was so. ) than in all that Darwin wrote. 

It is no light matter to impeach the veracity of the 
Scriptures in order to accept, not a truth — ^not even a 
theory — ^but a mere hypothesis. Professor Huxley 
says, " There is no fault to be found with Darwin's 
method, but it is another thing whether he has fulfilled 
all the conditions imposed by that method. Is it satis- 
factorily proved that species may be originated by se- 
lection ? That none of the phenomena exhibited by the 
species are inconsistent with the origin of the species 
in this way? If these questions can be answered in 
the affirmative, Mr. Darwin's view steps out of the 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 95 

ranks of hypothesis into that of theories ; but so long 
as the evidence adduced falls short of enforcing that 
affirmative, so long, to our minds, the new doctrine 
must be content to remain among the former — an ex- 
tremely valuable, and in the highest degree probable, 
doctrine; indeed the only extant hypothesis which is 
worth anything in a scientific point of view ; but still & 
hypothesis, and not a theory of species." "After 
much consideration," he adds, *' and assuredly with no 
bias against Darwin's views, it is our clear conviction 
that, as the evidence now stands, it is not absolutely 
proven that a group of animals, having all the charac- 
ters exhibited by species in nature, has ever been origi- 
nated by selection, whether artificial or natural." 

But Darwin is absurd as well as groundless. He 
announces two laws, which, in his judgment, explain 
the development of man from the lowest form of ani- 
mal life, VIZ., natural selection and sexual selection. 
The latter has been abandoned by the modern believers 
in evolution, but two illustrations, taken from Dar- 
win's " Descent of Man," will show his unreliability as 
a guide to the young. On page 587 of the 1874 edition, 
he tries to explain man's superior mental strength (a 
proposition more difficult to defend to-day than in 
Darwin's time). His theory is that, " the struggle be- 
tween the males for the possession of the females" 
helped to develop the male mind and that this superior 
strength was transmitted by males to their male off- 
spring. 

After having shown, to his own satisfaction, how 
sexual selection would account for the (supposed) 



96 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

greater strength of the male mind, he turns his atten- 
tion to another question, namely, how did man become 
a hairless animal ? This he accounts for also by sex- 
ual selection — the females preferred the males with the 
least hair (page 624). In a footnote on page 625 he 
says that this view has been harshly criticized. 
" Hardly any view advanced in this work,'' he says, 
" has met with so much disfavour." A comment and 
a question: First, Unless the brute females were very 
different from the females as we know them, they 
would not have agreed in taste. Some would " prob- 
ably " have preferred males with less hair, others, " we 
may well suppose," would have preferred males with 
more hair. Those with more hair would naturally be 
the stronger because better able to resist the weather. 
But, second, how could the males have strengthened 
their minds by fighting for the females if, at the same 
time, the females were breeding the hair off by select- 
ing the males? Or, did the males select for three 
years and then allow the females to do the selecting 
during leap year? 

But, worse yet, in a later edition published by L. A. 
Burt Company, a "supplemental note" is added to 
discuss two letters which he thought supported the idea 
that sexual selection transformed the hairy animal into 
the hairless man. Darwin^s correspondent (page 710) 
reports that a mandril seemed to be proud of a bare 
spot. Can anything be less scientific than trying to 
guess what an animal is thinking about? It would 
seem that this also was a subject about which it was 
" useless to speculate." 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 97 

While on this subject it may be worth while to call 
your attention to other fantastic imaginings of which 
those are guilty who reject the Bible and enter the field 
of speculation — ^fiction surpassing anything to be 
found in the Arabian Nights. If one accepts the 
Scriptural account of the creation, he can credit God 
with the working of miracles and with the doing of 
many things that man cannot understand. The evolu- 
tionist, however, having substituted what he imagines 
to be a universal law for separate acts of creation must 
explain everything. The evolutionst, not to go back 
farther than life just now, begins with one or a few 
invisible germs of life on the planet and imagines that 
these invisible germs have, by the operation of what 
they call "resident forces,'' unaided from without, de- 
veloped into all that we see to-day. They cannot in a 
lifetime explain the things that have to be explained, if 
their hypothesis is accepted — a useless waste of time 
even if explanation were possible. 

Take the eye, for instance; believing in the Mosaic 
account, I believe that God made the eyes when He 
made man— not only made the eyes but carved out the 
caverns in the skull in which they hang. It is easy for 
the believer in the Bible to explain the eyes, because he 
believes in a God who can do all things and, according 
to the Bible, did create man as a part of a divine plan. 

But how does the evolutionist explain the eye when 
he leaves God out? Here is the only guess that I have 
seen — if you find any others I shall be glad to know of 
them, as I am collecting the guesses of the evolution- 
ists. The evolutionist guesses that there was a time 



98 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

when eyes were unknown — that is a necessary part of 
the hypothesis. And since the eye is a universal pos- 
session among living things the evolutionist guesses 
that it came into being — not by design or by act of God 
— but just happened, and how did it happen? I will 
give you the guess — a piece of pigment, or, as some 
say, a freckle appeared upon the skin of an animal that 
had no eyes. This piece of pigment or freckle con- 
verged the rays of the sun upon that spot and when the 
little animal felt the heat on that spot it turned the spot 
to the sun to get more heat. The increased heat irri- 
tated the skin — so the evolutionists guess, and a ner\^e 
came there and out of the nerve came the eye! Can 
you beat it ? But this only accounts for one eye ; there 
must have been another piece of pigment or freckle 
soon afterward and just in the right place in order to 
give the animal two eyes. 

And, according to the evolutionist, there was a time 
when animals had no legs, and so the leg came by acci- 
dent. How? Well, the guess is that a little animal 
without legs was wiggling along on its belly one day 
when it discovered a wart — it just happened so — and 
it was in the right place to be used to aid it in locomo- 
tion; so, it came to depend upon the wart, and use 
finally developed it into a leg. And then another wart 
and another leg, at the proper time — by accident — and 
accidentally in the proper place. Is it not astonishing 
that any person intelligent enough to teach school 
would talk such tommyrot to students and look serious 
while doing so? 

And yet I read only a few weeks ago, on page 134 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 99 

of a little book recently issued by a prominent New 
York minister, the following: 

" Man has grown up in this universe gradually de- 
veloping his powers and functions as responses to his 
environment. If he has eyes, so the biologists assure 
us, it is because light waves played upon the skin and 
eyes came out in answer; if he has ears it is because 
the air waves were there first and the ears came out to 
hear. Man never yet, according to the evohitionist, 
has developed any power save as a reality called it into 
being. There would be no fins if there were no water, 
no wings if there were no air, no legs if there were no 
land." 

You see I only called your attention to forty per cent, 
of the absurdities ; he speaks of eyes, ears, fins, wings 
and legs — five. I only called attention to eyes and 
legs — ^two. The evolutionist guesses himself away 
from God, but he only makes matters worse. How 
long did the " light waves " have to play on the skin 
before the eyes came out? The evolutionist is very 
deliberate; he is long on time. He would certainly 
give the eye thousands of years, if not millions, in 
which to develop; but how could he be sure that the 
light waves played all the time in one place or played 
in the same place generation after generation until the 
development was complete? And why did the light 
waves quit playing when two eyes were perfected? 
Why did they not keep on playing until there were eyes 
all over the body? Why do they not play to-day, so 
that we may see ej^es in process of development ? And 
if the light waves created the eyes, why did they not 



100 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

create them strong enough to bear the light? Why 
did the light waves make eyes and then make eyelids 
to keep the light out of the eyes? 

And so with the ears. They must have gone in " to 
hear " instead of out, and wasn't it lucky that they hap- 
pened to go in on opposite sides of the head instead of 
eater-cornered or at random? Is it not easier to be- 
lieve in a God who can make the eye, the ear, the fin, 
the wing, and the leg, as well as the light, the sound, 
the air, the water and the land ? 

There is such an abundance of ludicrous material 
that it is hard to resist the temptation to continue illus- 
trations indefinitely, but a few more will be sufficient. 
In order that you may be prepared to ridicule these 
pseudo-scientists who come to you with guesses instead 
of facts, let me give you three recent bits of evolution- 
ary lore. 

Last November I was passing through Philadelphia 
and read in an afternoon paper a report of an address 
delivered in that city by a college professor employed 
in extension work. Here is an extract from the 
paper's account of the speech: "Evidence that early 
men climbed trees with their feet lies in the way we 
wear the heels of our shoes — more at the outside. A 
baby can wiggle its big toe without waggling its other 
toes — an indication that it once used its big toe in 
climbing trees.'* What a consolation it must be to 
mothers to know that the baby is not to be blamed for 
wiggling the big toe without wiggling the other toes. 
It cannot help it, poor little thing; it is an inheritance 
from " the tree man,'' so the evolutionists tell us. 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 101 

And here is another extract: " We often dream of 
falling. Those who fell out of the trees some fifty 
thousand years ago and were killed, of course, had no 
descendants. So those who fell and were not hurt, of 
course, lived, and so we are never hurt in our dreams 
of falling/* Of course, if we were actually descended 
from the inhabitants of trees, it would seem quite 
likely that we descended from those that were not 
killed in falling. But they must have been badly 
frightened if the impression made upon their feeble 
minds could have lasted for fifty thousand years and 
still be vivid enough to scare us. 

If the Bible said anything so idiotic as these guessers 
put forth in the name of science, scientists would have 
a great time ridiculing the sacred pages, but men who 
scoff at the recorded interpretation of dreams by Jo- 
seph and Daniel seem to be able to swallow the amus- 
ing interpretations offered by the Pennsylvania pro- 
fessor. 

A few months ago the Sunday School Times quoted 
a professor in an Illinois University as saying that the 
great day in history was the day when a water puppy 
crawled up on the land and, deciding to be a land 
animal, became man's progenitor. If these scientific 
speculators can agree upon the day they will probably 
insist on our abandoning Washington's birthday, the 
Fourth of July, and even Christmas, in order to join 
with the whole world In celebrating "Water Puppy 
Day.'' 

Within the last few weeks the papers published a 
dispatch from Paris to the effect that an "eminent 



102 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

scientist '* announced that he had communicated with 
the spirit of a dog and learned from the dog that it 
was happy. Must we believe this, too ? 

But is the law of "natural selection'' a sufficient 
explanation, or a more satisfactory explanation, than 
sexual selection? It is based on the theory that where 
there is an advantage in any characteristic, animals 
that possess this characteristic survive and propagate 
their kind. This, according to Darwin's argument, 
leads to progress through the " survival of the fittest." 
This law or principle (natural selection), so carefully 
worked out by Darwin, is being given less and less 
weight by scientists. Darwin himself admits that he 
" perhaps attributed too much to the action of natural 
selection and the survival of the fittest" (page 76). 
John Burroughs, the naturalist, rejects it in a recent 
magazine article. The followers of Darwin are trying 
to retain evolution while rejecting the arguments that 
led Darwin to accept it as an explanation of the varied 
life on the planet. Some evolutionists reject Darwin's 
line of descent and believe that man, instead of coming 
from the ape, branched off from a common ancestor 
farther back, but " cousin " ape is as objectionable as 
*^ grandpa " ape. 

While " survival of the fittest " may seem plausible 
when applied to individuals of the same species, it af- 
fords no explanation whatever, of the almost infinite 
number of creatures that have come under man's ob- 
servation. To believe that natural selection, sexual 
selection or any other kind of selection can account for 
the countless differences we see about us requires more 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 103 

faith in chance than a Christian is required to have in 
God. 

Is it conceivable that the hawk and the humming- 
bird, the spider and the honey bee, the turkey gobbler 
and the mocking-bird, the butterfly and the eagle, the 
ostrich and the wren, the tree toad and the elephant, 
the giraffe and the kangaroo, the wolf and the lamb 
should all be the descendants of a common ancestor? 
Yet these and all other creatures must be blood rela- 
tives if man is next of kin to the monkey. 

If the evolutionists are correct; if it is true that all 
that we see is the result of development from one or 
a few invisible germs of life, then, in plants as well as 
in animals there must be a line of descent connecting 
all the trees and vegetables and flowers with a common 
ancestry. Does it not strain the imagination to the 
breaking point to believe that the oak, the cedar, the 
pine and the palm are all the progeny of one ancient 
seed and that this seed was also the ancestor of wheat 
and corn, potato and tomato, onion and sugar beet, 
rose and violet, orchid and daisy, mountain flower and 
magnolia? Is it not more rational to believe in God 
and explain the varieties of life in terms of divine 
power than to waste our lives in ridiculous attempts to 
explain the unexplainable ? There is no mortification 
in admitting that there are insoluble mysteries ; but it 
IS shameful to spend the time that God has given for 
nobler use in vain attempts to exclude God from His 
own universe and to find in chance a substitute for 
God's power and wisdom and love. 

While evolution in plant life and in animal life up to 



104 THE OEIQIN OF MAN 

the highest form of animal might, if there were proof 
of it, be admitted without raising a presumption that 
would compel us to give a brute origin to man, why- 
should we admit a thing of which there is no proof? 
Why should we encourage the guesses of these specu- 
lators and thus weaken our power to protest when they 
attempt the leap from the monkey to man? Let the 
evolutionist furnish his proof. 

Although our chief concern is in protecting man 
from the demoralization involved in accepting a brute 
ancestry, it is better to put the advocates of evolution 
upon the defensive and challenge them to produce 
proof in support of their hypothesis in plant life and 
in the animal world. They will be kept so busy trying 
to find support for their hypothesis in the kingdoms 
below man that they will have little time left to combat 
the Word of God in respect to man's origin. Evolu- 
tion joins issue with the Mosaic account of creation. 
God's law, as stated in Genesis, is reproduction accord- 
ing to kind; evolution implies reproduction not accord- 
ing to kind. While the process of change implied in 
evolution is covered up in endless eons of time it is 
change nevertheless. The Bible does not say that re- 
production shall be nearly according to kind or seem- 
ingly according to kind. The statement is positive 
that It is according to kind, and that does not leave any 
room for the changes however gradual or impercep- 
tible that are necessary to support the evolutionary 
hypothesis. 

We see about us everywhere and always proof of 
the Bible law, viz., reproduction according to kind ; we 



i THE OEIGIN OF MAN 105 

find nothing in the universe to support Darwin's doc- 
trine of reproducton other than of kind. 

If you question the possibility of such changes as 
the Darwinian doctrine supposes you are reminded that 
the scientific speculators have raised the time limit. 
"If ten million years are not sufficient, take twenty/' 
they say: " If fifty million years are not enough take, 
one or two hundred millions." That accuracy is not 
essential in such guessing may be inferred from the 
fact that the estimates of the time that has elapsed 
since life began on the earth, vary from less than 
twenty-five million years to more than three hundred 
million. Darwin estimated this period at two hundred 
million years while Darwin's son estimated it at fifty- 
seven million. 

It requires more than millions of years to account 
for the varieties of life that inhabit the earth ; it re- 
quires a Creator, unlimited in power, unlimited intelli- 
gence, and unlimited love. 

But the doctrine of evolution is sometimes carried 
farther than that. A short while ago Canon Barnes, 
of Westminster Abbey, startled his congregation by an 
interpretation of evolution that ran like this: " It now 
seems highly probable (probability again) that from 
some fundamental stuff in the universe the electrons 
arose. From them came matter. From matter, life 
emerged. From life came mind. From mind, spiri- 
tual consciousness was developing. There was a time 
when matter, life and mind, and the soul of man were 
not, but now they are. Each has arisen as a part of 
the vast scheme planned by God." (An American 



106 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

professor in a Christian college has recently expressed 
himself along substantially the same lines.) 

But what has God been doing since the " stuff " be- 
gan to develop? The verbs used by Canon Barnes 
indicate an internal development unaided from above. 
"Arose, came, emerged, etc.," all exclude the idea that 
God is within reach or call in man's extremity. 

When I was a boy in college the materialists began 
with matter separated into infinitely small particles and 
every particle separated from every other particle by 
distance infinitely great. But now they say that it 
takes 1,740 electrons to make an atom of infinite fine- 
ness. God, they insist, has not had anything to do 
with this universe since 1,740 electrons formed a 
chorus and sang, " We'll be an atom by and by." 

It requires measureless credulity to enable one to 
believe that all that we see about us came by chance, 
by a series of happy-go-lucky accidents. If only an 
infinite God could have formed hydrogen and oxygen 
and united them in just the right proportions to pro- 
duce water — ^the daily need of every living thing — 
scattered among the flowers all the colours of the rain- 
bow and every variety of perfume, adjusted the mock- 
ing-bird's throat to its musical scale, and fashioned a 
soul for man, why should we want to imprison such a 
God in an impenetrable past ? This is a living world ; 
why not a living God upon the throne? Why not 
allow Him to work nowf 

Darwin is so sure that his theory is correct that he 
is ready to accuse the Creator of trying to deceive man 
if the theory is not sound. On page 41 he says: " To 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 107 

take any other view is to admit that our structure and 
that of all animals about us, is a mere snare to entrap 
our judgment ; " as if the Almighty were in duty 
bound to make each species so separate from every 
other that no one could possibly be confused by resem- 
blances. There would seem to be differences enough. 
To put man in a class with the chimpanzee because of 
any resemblances that may be found is so unreasonable 
that the masses have never accepted it. 

If we see houses of different size, from one room to 
one hundred, we do not say that the large houses grew 
out of small ones, but that the architect that could plan 
one could plan all. 

But a groundless hypothesis — even an absurd one — 
would be unworthy of notice if it did no harm. This 
hypothesis, however, does incalculable harm. It 
teaches that Christianity impairs the race physically. 
That was the first implication at which I revolted. It 
led me to review the doctrine and reject it entirely. If 
hatred is the law of man's development ; that is, if man 
has reached his present perfection by a cruel law under 
which the strong kill off the weak — then, if there is 
any logic that can bind the human mind, we must turn 
backward toward the brute if we dare to substitute 
the law of love for the law of hate. That is the con- 
clusion that I reached and it is the conclusion that Dar- 
win himself reached. On pages 149-50 he says: 
*' With savages the weak in body or mind are soon 
eliminated ; and those that survive commonly exhibit a 
vigorous state of health. We civilized men, on the 
other hand, do our utmost to check the progress of 



108 THE OEIQIN OP MAN 

elimination. We build asylums for the imbecile, the 
maimed and the sick ; we institute poor laws ; our med- 
ical experts exert their utmost skill to save the lives of 
every one to the last moment. There is reason to be- 
lieve that vaccination has preserved thousands who 
from weak constitutions would have succumbed to 
smallpox. Thus the weak members of civilized socie- 
ties propagate their kind. No one who has attended to 
the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this 
must be highly injurious to the race of man." 

This confession deserves analysis. First, he com- 
mends, by implication, the savage method of eliminat- 
ing the weak, while, by implication, he condemns 
'' civilized men '^ for prolonging the life of the weak. 
He even blames vaccination because it has preserved 
thousands who might otherwise have succumbed (for 
the benefit of the race?). Can you imagine anything 
more brutal? And then note the low level of the ar- 
gument. " No one who has attended the breeding of 
domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly 
injurious to the race of man." All on a brute 
basis. 

His hypothesis breaks down here. The minds 
which, according to Darwin, are developed by natural 
selection and sexual selection, use their power to sus- 
pend the law by which they have reached their high 
positions. Medicine is one of the greatest of the 
sciences and its chief object is to save life and 
strengthen the weak. That, Darwin complains, inter- 
feres with "the survival of the fittest." If he com- 
plains of vaccination, what would he say of the more 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 109 

recent discovery of remedies for typhoid fever, yellow 
fever and the black plague ? And what would he think 
of saving weak babies by pasteurizing milk and of the 
efforts to find a specific for tuberculosis and cancer? 
Can such a barbarous doctrine be sound ? 

But Darwin's doctrine is even more destructive. 
His heart rebels against the ''hard reason'' upon 
which his heartless hypothesis is built. He says: 
" The aid which we feel impelled to give to the help- 
less is mainly the result of the instinct of sympathy, 
which was originally acquired as a part of the social 
instincts, but subsequently rendered in the manner in- 
dicated, more tender and more widely diffused. Nor 
could we check our sympathy even at the urging of 
hard reason, without deterioration in the noblest part 
of our nature. The surgeon may harden himself while 
performing an operation, for he knows he is acting for 
the good of his patient; but if we were to intentionally 
neglect the weak and the helpless, it could be only for 
a contingent benefit, with overwhelming present evil. 
We must therefore bear the undoubted bad effects of 
the weak surviving and propagating their kind.'* 

The moral nature which, according to Darwin, is also 
developed by natural selection and sexual selection, re- 
pudiates the brutal law to which, if his reasoning is 
correct, it owes its origin. Can that doctrine be ac- 
cepted as scientific when its author admits that we can- 
not apply it " without deterioration in the noblest part 
of our nature ** ? On the contrary, civilization is 
measured by the moral revolt against the cruel doctrine 
developed by Darwin. 



110 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

Darwin rightly decided to suspend his doctrine, even 
at the risk of impairing the race. But some of his 
followers are more hardened. A few years ago I read 
a book in which the author defended the use of alcohol 
on the ground that it rendered a service to society by 
killing off the degenerates. And this argument was 
advanced by a scientist in the fall of 1920 at a congress 
against alcohol. 

The language which I have quoted proves that Dar- 
winism is directly antagonistic to Christianity, which 
boasts of its eleemosynary institutions and of the care 
it bestows on the weak and the helpless. Darwin, by 
putting man on a brute basis and ignoring spiri- 
tual values, attacks the very foundations of Chris- 
tianity. 

Those who accept Darwin's views are in the habit of 
saying that it need not lessen their reverence for God 
to believe that the Creator fashioned a germ of life and 
endowed it with power to develop into what we see to- 
day. It is true that a God who could make man as he 
is, could have made him by the long-drawn-out process 
suggested by Darwin. To do either would require in- 
finite power, beyond the ability of man to compre- 
hend. But what is the natural tendency of Darwin's 
doctrine ? 

Will man's attitude toward Darwin's God be the 
same as it would be toward the God of Moses? Will 
the believer in Darwin's God be as conscious of God's 
presence in his daily life? Will he be as sensitive to 
God's will and as anxious to find out what God wants 
him to do? 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 111 

Will the believer in Darwin's God be as fervent in 
prayer and as open to the reception of divine sugges- 
tions ? 

I shall later trace the influence of Darwinism on 
world peace when the doctrine is espoused by one bold 
enough to carry it to its logical conclusion, but I must 
now point out its natural and logical effect upon young 
Christians. 

A boy is bom in a Christian family ; as soon as he is 
able to join words together into sentences his mother 
teaches him to lisp the child's prayer: " Now I lay me 
down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep; if I 
should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to 
take." A little later the boy is taught the Lord's 
Prayer and each day he lays his petition before the 
Heavenly Father: " Give us this day our daily bread " ; 
" Lead us not into temptation '' ; " Deliver us from 
evil " ; '' Forgive our trespasses " ; etc. 

He talks with God. He goes to Sunday school and 
learns that the Heavenly Father is even more kind than 
earthly parents ; he hears the preacher tell how precious 
our lives are in the sight of God— how even a sparrow 
cannot fall to the ground without His notice. All his 
faith is built upon the Book that informs him that he 
is made in the image of God; that Christ came to re- 
veal God to man and to be man's Saviour. 

Then he goes to college and a learned professor 
leads him through a book 600 pages thick, largely 
devoted to resemblances between man and the beasts 
about him. His attention is called to a point in the 
ear that is like a point in the ear of the ourang, to ca- 



112 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

nine teeth, to muscles like those by which a horse 
moves his ears. 

He is then told that everything found in a human 
brain is found in miniature in a brute brain. 

And how about morals ? He is assured that the de- 
velopment of the moral sense can be explained on a 
brute basis without any act of, or aid from, God. 
(Seepages 113-114.) 

No mention of religion, the only basis for morality; 
not a suggestion of a sense of responsibility to God — 
nothing but cold, clammy materialism! Darwinism 
transforms the Bible into a story book and reduces 
Christ to man's level. It gives him an ape for an an- 
cestor on His mother's side at least and, as many evo- 
lutionists believe, on His Father's side also. 

The instructor gives the student a new family tree 
millions of years long, with its roots in the water 
(marine animals) and then sets him adrift, with infi- 
nite capacity for good or evil but with no light to 
guide him, no compass to direct him and no chart of 
the sea of life! 

No wonder so large a percentage of the boys and 
girls who go from Sunday schools and churches to col- 
leges (sometimes as high as seventy-five per cent.) 
never return to religious work. How can one feel 
God's presence in his daily life if Darwin's reasoning 
is sound? This restraining influence, more potent 
than any external force, is paralyzed when God is put 
so far away. How can one believe in prayer if, 
for millions of years, God has never touched a human 
life or laid His hand upon the destiny of the human 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 113 

race? What mockery to petition or implore, if God 
neither hears nor answers. Elijah taunted the 
prophets of Baal when their god failed to answer with 
fire ; " Cry aloud," he said, " peradventure he sleep- 
eth/' Darwin mocks the Christians even more cruelly ; 
he tells us that our God has been asleep for millions of 
years. Even worse, he does not affirm that Jehovah 
was ever awake. Nowhere does he collect for the 
reader the evidences of a Creative Power and call upon 
man to worship and obey God. The great scientist is, 
if I may borrow a phrase, " too much absorbed in the 
things infinitely small to consider the things infinitely 
great.'' Darwinism chills the spiritual nature and 
quenches the fires of religious enthusiasm. If the 
proof in support of Darwinism does not compel accept- 
ance — and it does not — why substitute it for an ac- 
count of the Creation that links man directly with the 
Creator and holds before him an example to be imi- 
tated? As the eminent theologian, Charles Hodge, 
says: "The Scriptural doctrine (of Creation) ac- 
counts for the spiritual nature of man, and meets all 
his spiritual necessities. It gives him an object of 
adoration, love and confidence. It reveals the Being 
on whom his indestructible sense of responsibility ter- 
minates. The truth of this doctrine, therefore, rests 
not only upon the authority of the Scriptures but on 
the very constitution of our nature." 

I have spoken of what would seem to be the natural 
and logical effect of the Darwin hypothesis on the 
minds of the young. This view is confirmed by its 
actual effect on Darwin himself. In his " Life and 



114 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

Letters," he says: " I am much engaged, an old man, 
and out of health, and I cannot spare time to answer 
your questions fully — nor indeed can they be an- 
swered. Science has nothing to do with Christ, ex- 
cept in so far as the habit of scientific research makes 
a man cautious in admitting evidence. For myself, I 
do not believe that there ever has been any revelation. 
As for a future life, every man must judge for himself 
between conflicting vague probabilities." It will be 
seen that science, according to Darwin, has nothing to 
do with Christ (except to discredit revelation which 
makes Christ's mission known to men). Darwin him- 
self does not believe that there has ever been any reve- 
lation, which, of course, excludes Christ. It will be 
seen also that he has no definite views on the future 
life — " every man," he says, " must judge for himself 
between conflicting vague probabilities/' 

It is fair to conclude that it was his own doctrine 
that led him astray, for in the same connection (in 
"Life and Letters") he says that when aboard the 
Beagle he was called "orthodox and was heartily 
laughed at by several of the officers for quoting the 
Bible as an unanswerable authority on some point of 
morality." In the same connection he thus describes 
his change and his final attitude: " When thus reflect- 
ing I feel compelled to look to a First Cause, having 
an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that 
of man; and I deserve to be called a Theist. This 
conclusion was strong in my mind about the time, as 
far as I can remember, when I wrote the ' Origin of 
Species'; and it is since that time that it has very 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 115 

gradually, with many fluctuations, become weaker. 
But then arises the doubt: Can the mind of man, 
which has, as I fully believe, been developed from a 
mind as low as that possessed by the lowest animals, be 
trusted when it draws such grand conclusions? 

" I cannot pretend to throw the least light on such 
abstruse problems. The mystery of the beginning of 
all things is insoluble by us; and I for one must be 
content to remain an Agnostic/' 

A careful reading of the above discloses the gradual 
transition wrought in Darwin himself by the unsup- 
ported hypothesis which he launched upon the world, 
or which he endorsed with such earnestness and indus- 
try as to impress his name upon it. He was regarded 
as ''orthodox'' when he was young; he was even 
laughed at for quoting the Bible "' as an unanswerable 
authority on some point of morality/' In the begin- 
ning he regarded himself as a Theist and felt com- 
pelled " to look to a First Cause, having an intelligent 
mind in some degree analogous to that of man.'' 

This conclusion, he says, was strong in his mind 
when he wrote " The Origin of Species," but he ob- 
serves that since that time this conclusion very gradu- 
ally became weaker, and then he unconsciously brings 
a telling indictment against his own hypothesis. He 
says, ''Can the mind of man (which, according to his 
belief, has been developed from a mind as low as that 
possessed by the lowest animals) be trusted when it 
draws such grand conclusions? " He first links man 
with the animals, and then, because of this supposed 
connection, estimates man's mind by brute standards. 



116 THE OEIGIN OP MAN 

Agnosticism is the natural attitude of the evolutionist. 
How can a brute mind comprehend spiritual things? 
It makes a tremendous difference what a man thinks 
about his origin whether he looks up or down. Who 
will say, after reading these words, that it is immaterial 
what man thinks about his origin? Who will deny 
that the acceptance of the Darwinian hypothesis shuts 
out the higher reasonings and the larger conceptions 
of man ? 

On the very brink of the grave, after he had ex- 
tracted from his hypothesis all the good that there was 
in it and all the benefit that it could confer, he is help- 
lessly in the dark, and " cannot pretend to throw the 
least light on such abstruse, problems." When he be- 
lieved in God, in the Bible, in Christ and in a future 
life there were no mysteries that disturbed him, but a 
guess with nothing in the universe to support it swept 
him away from his moorings and left him in his old 
age in the midst of mysteries that he thought insoluble. 
He must content himself with Agnosticism. What 
can Darwinism ever do to compensate any one for the 
destruction of faith in God, in His Word, in His Son, 
and of hope of immortality? 

It would seem sufficient to quote Darwin against 
himself and to cite the confessed effect of the doctrine 
as a sufficient reason for rejecting it, but the situation 
is a very serious one and there is other evidence that 
should be presented. 

James H. Leuba, a professor of Psychology in Bryn 
Mawr College, Pennsylvania, wrote a book five years 
ago, entitled *' Belief in God and Immortality.'' It 



THE ORIGIN OP MAN 117 

was published by Sherman French & Co., of Boston, 
and republished by The Open Court Publishing Com- 
pany of Chicago. Every Christian preacher should 
procure a copy of this book and it should be in the 
hands of every Christian layman who is anxious to aid 
in the defense of the Bible against its enemies. Leuba 
has discarded belief in a personal God and in personal 
immortality. He asserts that belief in a personal God 
and personal immortality is declining in the United 
States, and he furnishes proof, which, as long as it is 
unchallenged, seems conclusive. He takes a book con- 
taining the names of fifty-five hundred scientists — the 
names of practically all American scientists of promi- 
nence, he affirms — and sends them questions. Upon 
the answers received he asserts that more than one- 
half of the prominent scientists of the United States, 
those teaching Biology, Psychology, Geology and His- 
tory especially, have discarded belief in a personal God 
and in personal immortality. 

This IS what the doctrine of evolution is doing for 
those who teach our children. They first discard the 
Mosaic account of man's creation, and they do it on the 
ground that there are no miracles. This in itself con- 
stitutes a practical repudiation of the Bible; the mir- 
acles of the Old and New Testament cannot be cut out 
without a mutilation that is equivalent to rejection. 
They reject the supernatural along with the miracle, 
and with the supernatural the inspiration of the Bible 
and the authority that rests upon inspiration. If these 
believers in evolution are consistent and have the cour- 
age to carry their doctrine to its logical conclusion. 



118 THE ORIGIN OF MAN 

they reject the virgin birth of Christ and the resurrec- 
tion. They may still regard Christ as an unusual man, 
but they will not make much headway in converting 
people to Christianity, if they declare Jesus to be noth- 
ing more than a man and either a deliberate impostor 
or a deluded enthusiast. 

The evil influence of these Materialistic, Atheistic or 
Agnostic professors is disclosed by further investiga- 
tion made by Leuba. He questioned the students of 
nine representative colleges, and upon their answers de- 
clares that, while only fifteen per cent, of the freshmen 
have discarded the Christian religion, thirty per cent, 
of the juniors and that forty to forty-five per cent, of 
the men graduates have abandoned the cardinal prin- 
ciples of the Christian faith. Can Christians be indif- 
ferent to such statistics? Is it an immaterial thing 
that so large a percentage of the young men who go 
from Christian homes into institutions of learning 
should go out from these institutions with the spiritual 
element eliminated from their lives ? What shall it 
profit a man if he shall gain all the learning of the 
schools and lose his faith in God ? 

To show how these evolutionists undermine the 
faith of students let me give you an illustration that 
recently came to my attention: A student in one of the 
largest State universities of the nation recently gave 
me a printed speech delivered by the president of the 
university, a year ago this month, to 3,500 students, 
and printed and circulated by the Student Christian 
Association of the institution. The student who gave 
me the speech marked the following paragraph: "And, 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 119 

again, religion must not be thought of as something 
that is inconsistent with reasonable, scientific thinking 
in regard to the nature of the universe. I go so far 
as to say that, if you cannot reconcile religion with 
the things taught in biology, in psychology, or in the 
other fields of study in this university, then you should 
throw your religion away. Scientific truth is here to 
stay.'' What about the Bible, is it not here to stay? 
If he had stopped with the first sentence, his language 
might not have been construed to the injury of re- 
ligion, because religion is not " inconsistent with rea- 
sonable, scientific thinking in regard to the nature of 
the universe.'' There is nothing unreasonable about 
Christianity, and there is nothing unscientific about 
Christianity. No scientific fact — ^no fact of any other 
kind can disturb religion, because facts are not in con- 
flict with each other. It is guessing by scientists and 
so-called scientists that is doing the harm. And it is 
guessing that is endorsed by this distinguished college 
president (a D. D., too, as well as an LL. D. and a 
Ph. D. ) when he says, " I go so far as to say that, 
if you cannot reconcile religion with the things taught 
in biology, in psychology, or in the other fields of study 
in this university, then you should throw your religion 
away." What does this mean, except that the books 
on biology and on other scientific subjects used in that 
imiversity are to be preferred to the Bible in case of 
conflict? The student is told, "throw your religion 
away," if he cannot reconcile it (the Bible, of 
course,) with the things taught in biology, psychology, 
etc. Books on biology change constantly, likewise 



120 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

books on psychology, and yet they are held before the 
students as better authority than the unchanging Word 
of God. 

Is any other proof needed to show the irreligious in- 
fluence exerted by Darwinism applied to man ? At the 
University of Wisconsin (so a Methodist preacher 
told me) a teacher told his class that the Bible was a 
collection of myths. When I brought the matter to 
the attention of the President of the University, he 
criticized me but avoided all reference to the professor. 
At Ann Arbor a professor argued with students against 
rehgion and asserted that no thinking man could 
believe in God or the Bible. At Columbia (I learned 
this from a Baptist preacher) a professor began his 
course in geology by telling his class to throw away all 
that they had learned in the Sunday school. There is 
a professor in Yale of whom it is said that no one 
leaves his class a believer in God. (This came from a 
young man who told me that his brother was being led 
away from the Christian faith by this professor.) A 
father (a Congressman) tells me that a daughter on 
her return from Wellesley told him that nobody be- 
lieved in the Bible stories now. Another father (a 
Congressman) tells me of a son whose faith was un- 
dermined by this doctrine in a Divinity School. Three 
preachers told me of having their interest in the sub- 
ject aroused by the return of their children from col- 
lege with their faith shaken. The Northern Baptists 
have recently, after a spirited contest, secured the 
adoption of a Confession of Faith; it was opposed by 
the evolutionists. 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 121 

In Kentucky the fight is on among the Disciples, and 
it is becoming more and more acute in the Northern 
branches of the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches. 
A young preacher, just out of a theological seminary, 
who did not believe in the virgin birth of Christ, was 
recently ordained in Western New York. Last April 
I met a young man who was made an atheist by two 
teachers in a Christian college. 

These are only a few illustrations that have come 
under my own observation — nearly all of them within 
a year. What is to be done? Are the members of 
the various Christian churches willing to have the 
power of the pulpit paralyzed by a false, absurd and 
ridiculous doctrine which is without support in the 
written Word of God and without support also in na- 
ture? Is "thus saith the Lord" to be supplanted by 
guesses and speculations and assumptions? I submit 
three propositions for the consideration of the Chris- 
tians of the nation: 

First, the preachers who are to break the bread of 
life to the lay members should believe that man has in 
him the breath of the Almighty, as the Bible declares, 
and not the blood of the brute, as the evolutionists 
affirm. He should also believe in the virgin birth of 
the Saviour. 

Second, none but Christians in good standing and 
with a spiritual conception of life should be allowed to 
teach in Christian schools. Church schools are worse 
than useless If they bring students under the influence 
of those who do not believe In the religion upon which 
the Church and church schools are built. Atheism 



122 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

and Agnosticism are more dangerous when hidden 
under the cloak of reUgion than when they are exposed 
to view. 

Third, in schools supported by taxation we should 
have a real neutrality wherever neutrality in religion 
is desired. If the Bible cannot be defended in these 
schools it should not be attacked, either directly or 
under the guise of philosophy or science. The neu- 
trality which we now have is often but a sham; it 
carefully excludes the Christian religion but per- 
mits the use of the schoolrooms for the destruction 
of faith and for the teaching of materialistic doc- 
trines. 

It is not sufficient to say that some believers in Dar- 
winism retain their belief in Christianity; some sur- 
vive smallpox. As we avoid smallpox because many 
die of it, so we should avoid Darv\anism because it 
leads many astray. 

If It is contended that an instructor has a right to 
teach anything he likes, I reply that the parents who 
pay the salary have a right to decide what shall be 
taught. To continue the illustration used above, a 
person can expose himself to the smallpox if he desires 
to do so, but he has no right to communicate it to 
others. So a man can believe anything he pleases but 
he has no right to teach it against the protest of his 
employers. 

Acceptance of Darwin's doctrine tends to destroy 
one's belief in immortality as taught by the Bible. If 
there has been no break in the line between man and 
the beasts — no time when by the act of the Heavenly 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 123 

Father man became " a living Soul," at what period in 
man's development was he endowed with the hope of 
a future life? And, if the brute theory leads to the 
abandonment of belief in a future life with its rewards 
and punishments, what stimulus to righteous living is 
offered in its place ? 

Darwinism leads to a denial of God. Nietzsche 
carried Darwinism to its logical conclusion and it 
made him the most extreme of anti-Christians. I had 
read extracts from his writings — enough to acquaint 
me with his sweeping denial of God and of the Saviour 
— but not enough to make me familiar with his philos- 
ophy. 

As the war progressed I became more and more 
impressed with the conviction that the German propa- 
ganda rested upon a materialistic foundation. I se- 
cured the writings of Nietzsche and found in them a 
defense, made in advance, of all the cruelties and 
atrocities practiced by the militarists of Germany. 
Nietzsche tried to substitute the worship of the '' Su- 
perman '' for the worship of God. He not only re- 
jected the Creator, but he rejected all moral standards. 
He praised war and eulogized hatred because it led to 
war. He denounced sympathy and pity as attributes 
unworthy of man. He believed that the teachings of 
Christ made degenerates and, logical to the end, he 
regarded Democracy as the refuge of weaklings. He 
saw in man nothing but an animal and in that animal 
the highest virtue he recognized was " The Will to 
Power" — a will which should know no let or hin- 
drance, no restraint or limitation. 



124 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

Nietzsche's philosophy would convert the world into 
a ferocious conflict between beasts, each brute tram- 
pling ruthlessly on everything in his way. In his book 
entitled " Joyful Wisdom/' Nietzsche ascribes to Na- 
poleon the very same dream of power — Europe under 
one sovereign and that sovereign the master of the 
world — that lured the Kaiser into a sea of blood from 
which he emerged an exile seeking security under a 
foreign flag. Nietzsche names Darwin as one of the 
three great men of his century, but tries to deprive 
him of credit (?) for the doctrine that bears his name 
by saying that Hegel made an earlier announcement of 
it. Nietzsche died hopelessly insane, but his philos- 
ophy has wrought the moral ruin of a multitude, if it Is 
not actually responsible for bringing upon the world its 
greatest war. 

His philosophy, if it is worthy the name of philos- 
ophy, is the ripened fruit of Darwinism — and a tree is 
known by its fruit. 

In 1900 — over twenty years ago — ^while an Interna- 
tional Peace Congress was in session in Paris the fol- 
lowing editorial appeared in UUnivers: 

" The spirit of peace has fled the earth because evo- 
lution has taken possession of it. The plea for peace 
in past years has been inspired by faith in the divine 
nature and the divine origin of man; men were then 
looked upon as children of one Father and war, there- 
fore, was fracticide. But now that men are looked 
upon as children of apes, what matters it whether they 
are slaughtered or not? " 

I have given you above the words of a French writer 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 125 

published twenty years ago. I have just found in a 
book recently published by a prominent English writer 
words along the same line, only more comprehensive. 
The corroding influence of Darwinism has spread as 
the doctrine has been increasingly accepted. In the 
American preface to " The Glass of Fashion " these 
words are to be found: " Darwinism not only justifies 
the sensualist at the trough and Fashion at her glass ; 
it justifies Prussianism at the cannon's mouth and Bol- 
shevism at the prison-door. If Darwinism be true, if 
Mind is to be driven out of the universe and accident 
accepted as a sufficient cause for all the majesty and 
glory of physical nature, then there is no crime or vio- 
lence, however abominable in its circumstances and 
however cruel in its execution, which cannot be justi- 
fied by success, and no triviality, no absurdity of Fash- 
ion which deserves a censure: more — ^there is no act of 
disinterested love and tenderness, no deed of self-sac- 
rifice and mercy, no aspiration after beauty and excel- 
lence, for which a single reason can be adduced in 
logic." 

To destroy the faith of Christians and lay the foun- 
dation for the bloodiest war In history would seem 
enough to condemn Darwinism, but there are still two 
other indictments to bring against it. First, that it 
is the basis of the gigantic class struggle that is now 
shaking society throughout the world. Both the capi- 
talist and the labourer are increasingly class conscious. 
Why? Because the doctrine of the "Individual effi- 
cient for himself " — ^the brute doctrine of the " sur- 
vival of the fittest " — is driving men into a lifc-and- 



126 THE OEIGIN OP MAN 

death struggle from which sympathy and the spirit 
of brotherhood are ehminated. It is transforming the 
industrial world into a slaughter-house. 

Benjamin Kidd, in a masterful work, entitled, " The 
Science of Power,'' points out how Darwinism fur- 
nished Neitzsche with a scientific basis for his godless 
system of philosophy and is demoralizing industry. 

He also quotes eminent English scientists to support 
the last charge in the indictment, namely, that Darwin- 
ism robs the reformer of hope. Its plan of operation 
is to improve the race by " scientific breeding " on a 
purely physical basis. A few hundred years may be 
required — possibly a few thousand — but what is time 
to one who carries eons in his quiver and envelopes his 
opponents in the " Mist of Ages " ? 

Kidd would substitute the '' Emotion of the Ideal " 
for scientific breeding and thus shorten the time nec- 
essary for the triumph of a social reform. He counts 
one or two generations as sufficient. This is an enor- 
mous advance over Darwin's doctrine, but Christ's 
plan is still more encouraging. A man can be born 
again; the springs of life can be cleansed Instantly so 
that the heart loves the things that it formerly hated 
and hates the things that it once loved. If this is true 
of one, it can be true of any number. Thus, a nation 
can be born in a day if the Ideals of the people can be 
changed. 

Many have tried to harmonize Darwinism with the 
Bible, but these efforts, while honest and sometimes 
even agonizing, have not been successful. How could 
they be when the natural and inevitable tendency of 



THE OEIGIN OP MAN 127 

Darwinism is to exalt the mind at the expense of the 
heart, to overestimate the reliability of the reason as 
compared with faith and to impair confidence in the 
Bible. The mind is a machine ; it has no morals. It 
obeys its owner as willingly when he plots to kill as 
when he plans for service. 

The Theistic evolutionist who tries to occupy a mid- 
dle ground between those who accept the Bible account 
of creation and those who reject God entirely reminds 
one of a traveller in the mountains, who, having fallen 
half-way down a steep slope, catches hold of a frail 
bush. It takes so much of his strength to keep from 
going lower that he is useless as an aid to others. 
Those who have accepted evolution in the belief that it 
was not anti-Christian may well revise their conclu- 
sions in view of the accumulating evidence of its bane- 
ful influence. 

Darwinism discredits the things that are supernatu- 
ral and encourages the worship of the intellect — an 
idolatry as deadly to spiritual progress as the worship 
of images made by human hands. The injury that it 
does would be even greater than it is but for the moral 
momentum acquired by the student before he comes 
under the blighting influence of the doctrine. 

Many instances could be cited to show how the the- 
ory that man descended from the brute has, when de- 
liberately adopted, driven reverence from the heart and 
made young Christians agnostics and sometimes athe- 
ists—depriving them of the joy, and society of the 
service, that come from altruistic effort inspired by 
religion. 



128 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

I have recently read of a pathetic case in point. In 
the Encyclopsedia Americana you will find a 
sketch of the Hfe of George John Romanes, from 
which the following extract is taken: "Romanes, 
George John, English scientist. In 1879 he was 
elected fellow of the Royal Society and in 1878 pub- 
lished, under the pseudonym ^ Physicus,' a work en- 
titled, ^A Candid Examination of Theism,' in which 
he took up a somewhat defiant atheistic position. Sub- 
sequently his views underwent considerable change ; he 
revised the * Candid Examination,' and, toward the 
close of his life, was engaged on 'A Candid Examina- 
tion of Religion,' in which he returned to theistic be- 
liefs. His notes for this work were published after his 
death, under the title * Thoughts on Religion,' edited 
by Canon Gore. Romanes was an ardent supporter of 
Darwin and the evolutionists and in various works 
sought to extend evolutionary principles to mind, both 
in the lower animals and in the man. He wrote very 
extensively on modem biological theories." 

Let me use Romanes' own language to describe the 
disappointing experiences of this intellectual " prodigal 
son." On page 180 of "Thoughts on Religion" 
(written, as above stated, just before his death but not 
published until after his demise) he says, " The views 
that I entertained on this subject (Plan in Revelation) 
when an undergraduate (i. e., the ordinary orthodox 
views) were abandoned in the presence of the theory 
of Evolution." 

It was the doctrine of Evolution that led him astray. 
He attempted to employ reason to the exclusion of 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 129 

faitH — ^with the usual result. He abandoned prayer, 
as he explains on pages 143 and 143 : '' Even the sim- 
plest act of will in regard to religion — that of prayer — 
has not been performed by me for at least a quarter of 
a century, simply because it has seemed impossible to 
pray, as it were, hypothetically, that, much as I have 
always desired to be able to pray, I cannot will the at- 
tempt. To justify myself for what my better judg- 
ment has often seemed to be essentially irrational, I 
have ever made sundry excuses." '' Others have 
doubtless other difficulties, but mine is chiefly, I think, 
that of an undue regard to reason as against heart and 
will — ^undue, I mean, if so it be that Christianity is 
true, and the conditions to faith in it have been of 
divine ordination.'* 

In time he tired of the husks of materialism and 
started back to his Father's house. It was a weary 
journey but as he plodded along, his appreciation of 
the heart's part increased until, on pages 152 and 153, 
he says, " It is a fact that we all feel the intellectual 
part of man to be ' higher ' than the animal, whatever 
our theory of his origin. It is a fact that we all feel 
the moral part of man to be * higher ' than the intel- 
lectual, whatever our theory of either may be. It is 
also a fact that we all similarly feel the spiritual to be 
' higher ' than the moral, whatever our theory of re- 
ligion may be. It is what we understand by man's 
moral, and still more his spiritual, qualities that go to 
constitute character. And it is astonishing how in all 
walks of life it is character that tells in the long run." 

On page 150 he answered Huxley's attack on faith. 



130 THE OEIGIN OP MAN 

He says, " Huxley, in ' Lay Sermons/ says that faith 
has been proved a ' cardinal sin ' by science. Now this 
is true enough of credulity, superstition, etc., and 
science has done no end of good in developing our 
ideas of method, evidence, etc. But this is all on the 
side of intellect. ' Faith ' is not touched by such facts 
or considerations. And w^hat a terrible hell science 
would have made of the world, if she had abolished the 
' spirit of faith/ even in human relations/' 

In the days of his apostasy he " took it for granted," 
he says on page 164, "that Christianity was played 
out." When once his eyes were reopened he vied with 
Paul himself in recognizing the superior quality of 
love. On page 163 he quoted the eloquent lines of 
Bourdillon: 

The night has a thousand eyes, 

And the day but one ; 
Yet the light of a whole world dies 

With the setting sun. 

The mind has a thousand eyes. 

And the heart but one ; 
Yet the light of a whole life dies 

When love is done. 

Having quoted this noble sentiment he adds: " Love 
is known to be all this. How great then, is Christian- 
ity, as being the religion of love, and causing men to 
believe both in the cause of love's supremacy and the 
infinity of God's love to man." 

But Romanes still clung to Evolution and, so far as 
his book discloses, his mind would never allow his 
heart to commune with Darwin's far-away God, whose 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 131 

creative power Romanes could not doubt but whose 
daily presence he could not admit without abandoning 
his theory. 

His is a typical case, but many of the wanderers 
never return to the fold; they are lost sheep. If the 
doctrine were demonstrated to be true its acceptance 
would, of course, be obligatory, but how can one bring 
himself to assent to a series of assumptions when such 
a course is accompanied by such a tremendous risk of 
spiritual loss? 

If, as it does in so many instances, it causes the 
student to choose Darwinism, with its intellectual 
delusions, and reject the Bible, with the incalculable 
blessings that its heart-culture brings, what minister of 
the Gospel or Christian professor can justify himself 
before the bar of conscience if, by impairing confidence 
in the Word of God, he wrecks human souls ? All the 
intellectual satisfaction that Darwinism ever brought 
to those who have accepted it will not offset the sorrow 
that darkens a single life from which the brute theory 
of descent has shut out the sunshine of God's presence 
and the companionship of Christ. Here, too, we have 
the testimony of the distinguished scientist from whom 
I have been quoting. In his first book — the attack on 
Theism — he says: (page 29, "Thoughts on Religion") 
" I am not ashamed to confess that with this virtual 
negation of God the universe to me has lost its soul of 
loveliness; and, although from henceforth the precept 
to 'Work while it is day* will doubtless gain an 
intensified force from the terribly intensified meaning 
of the words that ' the night cometh when no man c^n 



132 THE OEIGIN OP MAN 

work/ yet when at times I think, as think at times I 
must, of the appalUng contrast between the hallowed 
glory of that creed which once was mine, and the 
lonely mystery of existence as now I find it, — at such 
times I shall ever feel it impossible to avoid the 
sharpest pang of which my nature is susceptible." 

Romanes, during his college days, came under the 
influence of those who worshipped the reason and this 
worship led him out into a starless night. Have we 
not a right to demand something more than guesses, 
surmises, and hypotheses before we exchange the " hal- 
lowed glory '^ of the Christian creed for " the lonely 
mystery of existence" as Romanes found it? Shall 
we at the behest of those who put the intellect above 
the heart endorse an unproved doctrine of descent and 
share responsibility for the wreckage of all that is 
spiritual in the lives of our young people ? I refuse 
to have any part in such responsibility. For nearly 
twenty years I have gone from college to college and 
talked to students. Wherever I could do so I have 
pointed out the demoralizing influence of Darwinism. 
I have received thanks from many students who were 
perplexed by the materialistic teachings of their in- 
structors and I have been encouraged by the approval 
of parents who were distressed by the visible effects of 
these teachings on their children. 

As many believers in Darwinism are led to reject 
the Bible let me, by way of recapitulation, contrast that 
doctrine with the Bible: 

Darwinism deals with nothing but life; the Bible 
deals with the entire universe — ^with its masses of 



THE OEIGIN OP MAN 133 

inanimate matter and with its myriads of living things, 
all obedient to the will of the great Law Given 

Darwin concerns himself with only that part of 
man's existence which is spent on earth — while the 
Bible's teachings cover all of life, both here and here- 
after. 

Darwin begins by assuming life upon the earth; the 
Bible reveals the source of life and chronicles its 
creation. 

Darwin devotes nearly all his time to man's body 
and to the points at which the human frame approaches 
in structure — though vastly different from — the brute ; 
the Bible emphasizes man's godlike qualities and the 
virtues which reflect the goodness of the Heavenly 
Father. 

Darwinism ends In self-destruction. As heretofore 
shown, its progress is suspended, and even defeated, 
by the very genius which it is supposed to develop ; the 
Bible invites us to enter fields of inexhaustible oppor- 
tunity wherein each achievement can be made a step- 
ping-stone to greater achievements still. 

Darwin's doctrine is so brutal that it shocks the 
moral sense — the heart recoils from it and refuses to 
apply the " hard reason " upon which it rests ; the Bible 
points us to the path that grows brighter with the 
years. 

Darwin's doctrine leads logically to war and to the 
worship of Nietzsche's "Superman"; the Bible tells 
us of the Prince of Peace and heralds the coming of 
the glad day when swords shall be beaten into plough- 
shares and when nations shall learn war no more. 



134 THE OEIGIN OF MAN 

Darwin's teachings drag industry down to the brute 
level and excite a savage struggle for selfish advan- 
tage; the Bible presents the claims of an universal 
brotherhood in which men will vmite their efforts in 
the spirit of friendship. 

As hope deferred maketh the heart sick, so the 
doctrine of Darwin benumbs altruistic effort by pro- 
longing indefinitely the time needed for reforms; the 
Bible assures us of the triumph of every righteous 
cause, reveals to the eye of faith the invisible hosts 
that fight on the side of Jehovah and proclaims the 
swift fulfillment of God's decrees. 

Darwinism puts God far away; the Bible brings 
God near and establishes the prayer-line of com- 
munication between the Heavenly Father and His chil- 
dren. 

Darwinism enthrones selfishness; the Bible crowns 
love as the greatest force in the world. 

Darwinism offers no reason for existence and pre- 
sents no philosophy of life; the Bible explains why 
man is here and gives us a code of morals that fits into 
every human need. 

The great need of the world to-day is to get back 
to God — back to a real belief in a living God — to a 
belief in God as Creator, Preserver and loving 
Heavenly Father. When one believes in a personal 
God and considers himself a part of God's plan he 
will be anxious to know God's will and to do it, seek- 
ing direction through prayer and made obedient 
through faith. 

Man was made in the Father's image; he enters 



THE OEIGIN OF MAN 136 

upon the stage, the climax of Jehovah's plan. He is 
superior to the beasts of the field, greater than any 
other created thing — but a little lower than the angels, 
God made him for a purpose, placed before him in- 
finite possibilities and revealed to him responsibilities 
commensurate with the possibilities. God beckons 
man upward and the Bible points the way; man can 
obey and travel toward perfection by the path that 
Christ revealed, or man can disobey and fall to a level 
lower, in some respects, than that of the brutes about 
him. Looking heavenward man can find inspiration 
in his lineage; looking about him he is impelled to 
kindness by a sense of kinship which binds him to 
his brothers. Mighty problems demand his attention ; 
a world's destiny is to be determined by him. What 
time has he to waste in hunting for ** missing links " 
or in searching for resemblances between his forefa- 
thers and the ape? In His Image — in this sign we 
conquer. 

We are not progeny of the brute; we have not been 
forced upward by a blind pushing-power ; neither have 
we tumbled upward by chance. It is a drawing- 
power — ^not a pushing-power — ^that rules the world — 
a power which finds its highest expression in Christ 
who promised: "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, 
will draw all men unto me." 



V 

THE LARGER LIFE 

I HAVE chosen this subject because I have found 
some young men, and even some young women, 
who seem to misunderstand the invitation ex- 
tended by the Master. The call of the Gospel falls, at 
times, upon deaf ears because religion is regarded as a 
thing that is necessary only when one comes to prepare 
himself for the life beyond. In earlier times many 
Christians misinterpreted the Christian religion and, 
withdrawing themselves from companionship with 
their fellows, devoted their time wholly to preparation 
of themselves for heaven, Christ went about doing 
good. 

I present my appeal to the young to accept Christ 
and to enter upon the life He prescribes, not because 
they may die soon but because they may live. They 
need Christ as their Saviour now and they need Him 
as their guide throughout life. Some complain of the 
Parable of the Vineyard because the man who began 
work at the eleventh hour received the same pay as 
those who toiled all day. Surely, those who complain 
have not tasted the joys of a Christian life. No one 
who follows the teachings of Christ will begrudge the 
reward promised to those who repent at the last mo- 
ment and are saved. The eleventh-hour Christians are 
the ones to mourn because they have lost the happiness 

136 



THE LAEGEE LIFE 137 

that they would have found in service during the live- 
long day. 

Young people sometimes postpone becoming Chris- 
tians on the ground that they v^ant to have a good time 
for a while longer. Who can be happier than the 
Christian? Our religion fits into the needs of all of 
every age. If there are any amusements enjoyed by 
the world from which members of the church feel it 
a duty to abstain it is because more wholesome amuse- 
ments crowd out the objectionable ones. It ought not 
to be necessary to forbid a Christian to do harmful 
things ; he ought to avoid them because he has no taste 
for them — ^because he finds more real pleasure and 
more enduring satisfaction in the things that are inno- 
cent and helpful. 

There is another class to which I desire to address 
myself to-day, namely, those who call themselves more 
liberal than Christians — ^who look upon our religion as 
narrowing in its influence. Christianity is the broad- 
est of creeds because it takes in everything that touches 
human life, here and hereafter. The Christian life is 
the most comprehensive life known ; it is as deep as the 
heart ; it is as wide as the world ; and It is as high as 
heaven. 

Paul, the great Apostle, tells us that Christ came to 
" bring life and Immortality to light '' — ^not Immortal- 
ity alone, but life also, and the word Life comes before 
the word Immortality. 

But we have higher authority even than Paul. 
Christ, In explaining His mission, said, " I am come 
that they might have life, and that they might have it 



138 THE LAEGEE LIFE 

more abundantly." It is to the more abundant life 
that Christ calls us. He was the master of mathe- 
matics, yet He used only addition and multiplication; 
subtraction has no place in His philosophy. 

Let me illustrate, as I see it, the gift that Christ 
brings to man. Let us suppose that the people living 
in an agricultural section had, by intelligent cultiva- 
tion, brought from the soil all that it could yield in 
material wealth. If a stranger came into the com- 
munity and announced that the people, by sinking a 
shaft one hundred feet deep, could find a vein of coal, 
they would, if they believed the statement true, imme- 
diately sink a shaft; and, if they found the coal, they 
would add it to the wealth that they derived from the 
surface of the ground. They would be grateful to the 
person who told them of the additional riches which 
they possessed but of which they were not aware. 
They might not think to thank him immediately — ^they 
might be too busy acquiring money to express their 
gratitude. But after the man was dead, if not before, 
they would pause long enough to erect a monument to 
testify to their appreciation of the service he had ren- 
dered. 

And, to complete the illustration, suppose after the 
people had adjusted themselves to the added income, 
another stranger appeared and assured them that, if 
they would sink the shaft one hundred feet deeper, 
they would find a vein of precious metals from which 
to draw money enough to purchase everything every- 
where that the heart could wish. They would, if they 
gave credit to his statement, dig down and find gold 



THE LAEGEE LIFE 139 

and silver and, with still greater joy, add this new pos- 
session to those that they already had. Again they 
would be grateful. They might not express them- 
selves during the benefactor's life, but after a while 
visitors to the community would see two monuments 
reared by grateful hands to those who had brought 
blessings to the neighbourhood. 

This illustration presents the idea that I would im- 
press upon you, namely, that Christ came to add to all 
the good things man possessed without requiring the 
surrender of any good thing in exchange. Long be- 
fore the coming of Christ man had taken possession of 
the body and had gathered from it all the joys that the 
flesh can yield. Man had also explored the farther 
reaches of the mind and possessed himself of the de- 
lights of the intellect. Christ not only brought re- 
demption but opened to man the vision of a spiritual 
world and showed him what infinite greatness the Fa- 
ther has placed within the reach of one made in His 
image, if he will only use the powers that he has — 
powers unknown to him until revealed by the Spirit. 

Every human being is travelling every day in one 
direction or the other — either upward toward the high- 
est plane that man can reach, or downward toward the 
lowest level to which man can fall; Christ gives us a 
vision of our possibilities and the strength to realize 
them. 

If Christ had demanded something in return for the 
great gifts that He came to bestow man might be justi- 
fied in asking for time for investigation. He would 
want to weigh the value of that which is offered 



140 THE LAEGEETLilTE 

against the value of that which must be given up. To 
do this intelligently would require a long period of 
training and ample time for comparison. The diffi- 
culty is even greater, for it would be impossible for 
one to weigh or calculate in advance the value of those 
things which are spiritually discerned. He could see 
the body ; he could comprehend the mind ; but he could 
not know the inestimable value of the things that 
Christ offers. But how can he hesitate when Christ 
demands not one single sacrifice, but gives, as the 
spring gives, desiring nothing in return except appre- 
ciation which it is pleasant to manifest? 

The Saviour not only gives without reducing the 
other enjoyments, but His gift increases the value of 
that which we have. The body without control will 
exhaust itself — actually wear itself out in the very riot 
of pleasure. It is only when the body is the servant of 
a spiritual master that it can develop its greatest 
strength and prolong its vigour. 

Two illustrations suggest themselves. The use of 
intoxicants has wrought disaster since man came upon 
the earth. Drink is not only ruinous when used con- 
tinuously and in large quantities, but it is injurious 
even when used moderately. The life insurance tables 
show that a young man who, at the age of twenty-one, 
begins the regular use of intoxicating liquors, reduces 
his expectancy by more than ten per cent., or more than 
four years in forty. That is the average. In propor- 
tion as the body is left to its own control the appetite 
becomes destructive of the body itself as well as of the 
body's value to others. Just in proportion as the body 



THE LAEGEE LIFE 141 

IS under spiritual control is it in position to enjoy itself 
and to extend the period of enjoyment. 

Reference need hardly be made to the diseases that 
follow in the wake of immorality. The wages of sin 
is death — death to the body, death to the mind and 
death to the soul. Races have rotted and passed into 
oblivion because the body was put in command of the 
life. Both drunkenness and unchastity curse the gen- 
erations that follow as well as the generations that are 
guilty — ^the sins of the fathers and mothers being vis- 
ited upon the children and children's children. 

And so, too, with the mind ; it would run wild but 
for the sovereign soul of man. There are temptations 
that come through the intellect — temptations that are 
as destructive as those that come through the body. 
Only when the mind Is guided and directed by a spiri- 
tual conception of life is it capable of its highest and 
noblest work. 

The soul is greater than the mind as it is greater 
than the body. Would you have proof? Recall the 
days of the martyrs. What is it in man that can take 
the body and hold it in the fire until the flames con- 
sume the quivering flesh? The soul of man that can 
coerce the body to its death is greater than the body it- 
self. And the soul is likewise greater than the mind. 
It can take the imperial mind of man, purge it of van- 
ity and egotism and infuse into it the spirit of humility 
and a passion for service. The soul that can thus har- 
ness the mind and make it bear the burdens of the 
world IS greater than the mind itself. 

Remember, also, that the spiritual gifts which Jesus 



142 THE LAEGEE LIFE 

bestows are vastly richer than all that man possessed 
before. Who can measure the value of salvation — the 
peace that comes with sins forgiven and the joy of 
constant communion with the Heavenly Father whom 
Christ reveals? And, then, consider the moral code 
that is revolutionizing the world. I only have time to 
mention a few of the fundamental teachings of Christ. 

Christ gave the world a new definition of love. 
Husbands had loved their wives and wives their hus- 
bands; parents had loved their children, and children 
their parents; and friend had loved friend, but Christ 
proclaimed a love as boundless as the sea. 

Christ founded a religion and built a Church on love 
— on love, the greatest force in the world. Love fur- 
nishes an armour which no weapon can pierce. When 
physical warfare is forgotten, love will still call its 
hosts to battle ; the effort then will be, not to kill one 
another but to excel in doing good. 

Christ has been called ''visionary'' — that is a fa- 
vourite word with those who pride themselves upon 
being practical. But as a matter of fact, one of the 
great virtues of Christ's teachings is that they are 
practical. He deals with the every-day things of or- 
dinary life and in His quiet way irons out difficulties 
and makes rough paths smooth. His philosophy is 
easily comprehended and readily applied. His words 
need no interpretation ; they are the words of the peo- 
ple, the language of the masses. If He were a teacher 
of rhetoric He would surpass all other teachers because 
the art of discourse reaches its maximum in His sen- 
tences. 



THE LAEGER LIFE 143 

The learned sometimes speak over the heads of their 
hearers, using words that are unusual and long-drawn- 
out. Jesus talked to the multitude and they not only 
understood Him but "" the common people heard him 
gladly,'' 

Let me recall to your minds just a few illustrations 
of the simplicity of His thought and language. Take, 
for instance, the supreme virtue, love, upon which He 
always places emphasis. Note how He weaves it into 
human experience. 

"Therefore," He says (Matt. 5:23), "if thou bring 
thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy 
brother hath aught against thee; Leave there thy gift 
before the altar and go thy way; first be reconciled to 
thy brother." 

Reconciliation is preferred to sacrifice. The gift 
upon the altar can wait; but enmity between brothers 
must have attention at once. What infinite woe and 
heartache will be prevented when this lesson is learned 
and applied throughout the world. What untold bless- 
ings will be realized when even among those who pro- 
fess the name of Christ it is always employed. A word 
spoken in anger has often cost a life because neither 
party to the quarrel was big enough to obey the best 
promptings of the heart and beg pardon. Families 
have been rent asunder; communities have been di- 
vided ; nations have gone to war, just because some one 
lacked the spirit of the Saviour and refused the plain 
and easy road to reconciliation. Well may religious 
rites be suspended for the moment while love removes 



144 THE LAEGEE LIFE 

offense and binds together hearts that were estranged. 
We know that " To err is human," and we beHeve that 
" To forgive is divine ; " to ask forgiveness requires 
as much grace as to forgive. 

In his first epistle (chapter 4: 2) John makes a 
striking application of Christ's doctrine of love: "If 
a man say ' I love God ' and hateth his brother, he is 
a liar." 

These are harsh words but the Apostle was dealing 
with a very serious subject, viz., the glaring in- 
consistency between love of God and hatred of a 
brother. 

There are many ways in which one can manifest ha- 
tred of his brother, and it must be remembered that 
hatred is a sin that is proven by acts rather than ad- 
mitted. First, there is indifference — a wide-spread sin 
— and it is to be found inside the church as well as 
outside. As love is a positive virtue, a failure to love 
is a violation of obligations. A participation in the 
services of the church, even communion at the Lord's 
Table — does not always awaken in Christians the inter- 
est they should feel in each other. 

If I may be permitted to illustrate my thought, allow 
me to call attention to the fact that church members 
are sometimes compelled to pay cut-throat rates for 
short-time loans when there are within the same con- 
gregation members who are loaning at lawful rates to 
non-church members. Does it not seem incredible that 
the money of Christians is available for the outside 
world and yet not within reach of needy brethren? It 
would be easy for each church to organize within its 



THE LAEGEE LIFE 146 

membership a loan society and use the money supplied 
by the well-to-do for the accommodation of those tem- 
porarily embarrassed^ Sometimes the chattel mort- 
gage sharks collect one hundred per cent, or more and 
the banks, which are established for the purpose of 
making small short-time loans, usually collect twenty 
to thirty per cent. Why should a church member be 
driven to these extremities when the loanable money 
in the church is sufficient for all needs ? Surely church 
membership ought to be better security for a small 
amount than either a chattel or a real estate mort- 
gage. 

Another illustration; the fraternities are splendid 
organizations and are founded on high principles, but 
the church might be expected to do for its members 
some of the work left to fraternities. They care for 
the sick and bury the dead ! Is it not a reflection on 
the church that its members should ever be compelled 
to go outside for assistance in such emergencies? 

There are many other forms of indifference, but in- 
difference is the least harmful of the manifestations 
of the lack of brotherhood. We have cases of positive 
and deliberate injury practiced against those who stand 
in the relation of brothers. We have had a riot of 
exploitation in this country ; profiteering has been car- 
ried on on an appalling scale: men have been thrusting 
their larcenous hands Into the pockets of their church 
brethren, as well as into the pockets of the public. 

We have also the unequal combat between the tax- 
eater and the taxpayer, and we have the perennial 
conflict between the different groups of taxpayers^ each 



146 THE LAEGER LIFE 

trying to shift the burden onto the other, not to speak 
of that very considerable company who, for profit, cul- 
tivate vice as the farmer cultivates his crops. All con- 
scious and deliberate injustice is proof of hatred and 
to such as engage in such wrong-doing the language of 
John ought to come as a stinging rebuke. It would 
work a revolution in society as well as in the Church if 
all the members proved their love of God by fair deal- 
ing with their fellowmen. 

Christ confines Himself usually to the laying down 
of broad, fundamental principles instead of supplying 
rules and formulae. He cleanses the heart and then 
gives to life the law of love which should pervade all 
human relationships, as the law of gravitation per- 
vades the universe. But the Master at times went 
from generalities into details, making the path of duty 
so plain that no one can excuse himself if he strays 
there form. 

An illustration is found in Matthew's Gospel, chap- 
ter 25: 34-46. 

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, 
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
prepared for you from the foundation of the world : 

For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was 
thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye 
took me in: 

Naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited 
me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying. Lord, 
when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee ? or thirsty, 
and gave thee drink? 

When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or 
naked, and clothed thee? 



THE LAEGEE LIFE 147 

Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came 
unto thee? 

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily 
I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of 
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, 
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared 
for the devil and his angels : 

For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat : I 
was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink : 

I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and 
ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited 
me not. 

Then shall they also answer him, saying. Lord, when 
saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or 
naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto 
thee? 

Then shall he answer them, saying. Verily I say unto 
you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of 
these ye did it not to me. 

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment : 
but the righteous into life eternal. 

No one should waste time in waiting for some great 
opportunity for service ; there are opportunities every- 
where. It is impossible for man to render any service 
to Jehovah Himself. There is nothing that we can do 
for Him except to love Him with heart and mind and 
soul and strength. It is to the neighbour that we pay 
the debt that we owe to the Heavenly Father; it is 
through the neighbour that we publish to the world our 
real selves. This is, like ,music, an universal language 
that all can understand. 

Nietzsche, the atheistic philosopher, gave to one of 
his books the title " Joyful Wisdom " — an absurd mis- 
nomer. That which he mistook for joy was the de- 



148 THE LAEGEE LIFE 

lirium of an unbalanced mind. The philosophy of 
Christ might with propriety be called Joyful Wisdom; 
it leads one into the path of happiness that is real and 
permanent. 

Carl Hilty, a Swiss writer, has published a book en- 
titled " Happiness," in which he points out that, as 
those have the poorest health who spend their time 
travelling from one health resort to another looking 
for it, so those are least happy who do nothing but 
hunt for pleasure. He insists that to be happy one 
must have employment for the hands, the head and the 
heart. The hands must be busy, the mind must be oc- 
cupied, and the heart must be satisfied. 

Christ leads His followers into happiness through 
this route. No one who partakes of His spirit can be 
an idler. The world is full of work awaiting labourers ; 
the harvest is ripe. Those who try to imitate Christ 
will be planning for the extension of His Kingdom and 
for the comfort of God's creatures. The heart of the 
Christian — the center of life and love — ^will find satis- 
faction in being in sympathetic touch with all that is 
good and noble. 

I have dwelt upon this point because the worldly are 
in the habit of picturing the Christian life as gloomy 
and forbidding. It is a libel ; a long-faced Christian is 
a poor Christian, if a Christian at all. " Be of good 
cheer," is a Christian salutation; Christ used it re- 
peatedly. In Matthew 9 : 2 He said to the man sick 
of the palsy, " Son, be of good cheer ; thy sins be for- 
given thee." 

In Matthew 14: 27 He quieted the fears of His dis- 



THE LAEGEB LIFE 149 

ciples, " Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid/' In 
John 16: 33 He inspired the Apostles, "Be of good 
cheer, I have overcome the world." 

Here we have three of the greatest sources of happi- 
ness — Forgiveness of sins: the presence of the Saviour 
and triumph over the world. 

In Acts we find Him using the same words in ad- 
dressing Paul and later Paul uses them in encouraging 
his companions. 

Religion — real, heartfelt religion — transforms its 
possessor. It moulds the disposition and disposition 
determines expression. No beauty doctor can make a 
face as winsome as the face of one whose heart over- 
flows with loving kindness; just as no face specialist 
can impose from without such lines of strength and 
intelligence as can be written upon it by the thoughts 
that pass through the brain. 

The Christian life is the simple life. Charles Wag- 
ner sounded a note that echoed around the world when, 
some two decades ago, he issued his eloquent protest 
against the burdensome complexities of modern life. 
He made a plea for the natural life in which each indi- 
vidual will be his own master instead of being the serv- 
ant of his possessions. Wagner's book, though first 
published in Paris, had a larger circulation in the 
United States than in any other nation — ^not because 
our people have wandered farther than others into ar- 
tificial social forms, but because they are sensitive to 
high ideals and free to reject harmful customs. 

Social intercourse should be an expression of friend- 
ship, and friendship is both embarrassed and obscured 



150 THE LAEGEE LIFE 

by vulgar display. The home should be a place of 
rest, where congenial spirits can gather for commu- 
nion. There is nothing edifying or satisfying in the 
mere comparing of apparel. The aim of entertainment 
should be to refresh the guest and stimulate friend- 
ship; the end is defeated by a rivalry in extravagance 
that awakens concern as to one's ability to return cour- 
tesies extended. The increasing costliness of social 
functions not only robs entertainment of the enjoy- 
ment that it is intended to bring, but it leads many 
young couples to ruin themselves financially in an ef- 
fort to keep up appearances and pay their social debts. 
It is impossible to calculate the benefit which would be 
brought to the social world if Christ's spirit could 
pervade it and infuse into it a wholesome sincerity and 
frankness. Christ put the accent on the things that 
are worthy and banished the shallow pretenses upon 
which so much time is wasted and so much money 
squandered. 

Christ gave the world a balm for that worry that is 
more wearing than work. He condemned the petty 
vanities and irritating anxieties. He taught a perfect 
trust that leads one to do his best and then leave the re- 
sult with the Heavenly Father who is ever near and 
always ready to give good gifts to His children. 

In Matthew 6, we find this soothing rebuke: 

Therefore T say unto you, Take no thought for your 
life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet 
for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more 
than meat, and the body than raiment ? Behold the fowls 
of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor 



THE LAEGER LIFE 151 

gather into bams; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth 
Siem. Are ye not much better than they? Which of 
you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature ? 
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the 
liUes of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither 
do they spin : And yet I say unto you. That even Solomon 
in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which 
to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he 
not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith ? 

Reasoning unanswerable. He argues from the less 
to the greater and with incomparable beauty woos man 
away from the distracting thoughts that dissipate his 
strength without yielding him any advantage. The 
Creator who cares for the birds will not forget man 
made in His image; He who clothes the fields in the 
beauty of the flower and gives to the trembling blade 
of grass the nourishment that it needs for its fleeting 
day, will not desert man, His supreme handiwork. 

*' Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," is a re- 
buke aimed at those who borrow trouble. Let not the 
past distress you — it has gone beyond recall; let not 
the morrow intrude upon you — it will bring its cargo 
of cares when It comes. Man lives in the present and 
can claim only the moment as it passes, but Christ 
teaches him how to so use each hour as to make the 
days that are gone an echoing delight and the days that 
are yet to come a radiant hope. 

Christ has been called a sentimentalist. Let it be 
admitted; it is no reproach. He is the inexhaustible 
source of sentiment, and sentiment rules the world. 
" The dreamer lives forever; the toiler dies in a day." 



152 THE LAEGEE LIFE 

A striking illustration of the emphasis that Christ 
placed upon sentiment is found in Matthew 26: 7-13; 

There came tmto him a woman having an alabaster box 
of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as 
he sat at meat. But when his disciples saw it, they had 
indignation, saying. To what purpose is this waste? For 
this ointment might have been sold for much, and given 
to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto 
them. Why trouble ye the woman ? for she hath wrought 
a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always 
with you, but me ye have not always. For in that she 
hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my 
burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel 
shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, 
that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. 

Eight verses devoted to an alabaster box of oint- 
ment! This is more space than was given to many 
incidents seemingly more important, and at the very 
crisis of His career, too. But who will estimate the 
value of this narrative? 

Judas complained that it was an inexcusable waste of 
money — Judas, the thief, as Mark calls him, pretended 
concern about the poor. The poor have received im- 
measurably more from the use made of this ointment 
than they would have received had it been sold and the 
proceeds distributed then. It was an expression of 
love, and love is the treasury box from which the poor 
can always draw. That box of ointment has spread 
its fragrance over nineteen hundred years. Give a 
man bread and he hungers again; give him clothing 
and his clothing will wear out ; but give him an ideal — 
something to look up to through life — and it will be 



THE LAEGEE LIFE 153 

with him through every waking hour lifting him to a 
higher plane and filling his life with the beauty and 
the bounty of service. The money spent for a loaf of 
bread may stay the pangs of hunger for a few brief 
hours, but the same amount invested in the ^' bread of 
life " will give one an inexhaustible feast. A drink of 
water refreshes for the moment ; the same amount in- 
vested in the " water of life " may make of one a 
spring overflowing with blessings. 

A Bible costs a few cents and yet upon it may be 
built a life that is worth millions to the human race. 
It was a Bible that made William Ewart Gladstone for 
a generation the world's greatest Christian statesman ; 
it was a Bible that made Jose Rodrigues for a quarter 
of a century the greatest moral force in Brazil. The 
Bible has given us great leaders in the United States. 
It is the Bible that has sent missionaries throughout 
the world to plant in little communities everywhere the 
teachings of the greatest of sentimentalists — and, at 
the same time, the most practical of philosophers. 
Christ has taught us the true value of those things 
which touch the heart and, through the heart, move 
the world. 

" Suffer little children to come unto me ; '' Christ 
used the child to admonish those older grown. The 
Church is following in His footsteps when it makes 
the child the subject of constant thought and solicitude. 
It is when we deal with the child that we get the clearest 
conception of the superiority of faith over reason. The 
foundations of character are laid in faith and not in 
reason ; they are laid before the reason can be accepted 



154 THE LAEGEE LIFE 

as a guide. No one who exalts reason above faith 
can lead a child to God, but a child can understand 
the love of the Saviour and the tender care of the 
Heavenly Father. For this reason the Sunday school 
increases in importance. Its lessons build character; 
its songs echo throughout our lives. 

The law arbitrarily fixes the age of twenty-one as 
the age of legal maturity. No matter how precocious 
a young man be, the presumption of law is against 
his intelligence until he is twenty-one. He cannot 
vote; he cannot make a valid deed to a piece of land. 
Why? His reason is not mature, and yet the moral 
principles that control his life are implanted before 
he reaches that age. His ideals come into his life long 
before the reason can be regarded as a safe guide. 
Before the reason is mature he believes in God or has 
rejected God. If he lives in a Christian community 
he has accepted the Bible as the Word of God or 
rejected it as the work of man; if he is acquainted 
with Christ he has accepted or rejected Him. A 
child's heart cannot remain a vacuum. It is filled with 
reverence or irreverence. Those who think that 
the mind can remain unbiassed until one becomes 
of age and then be able to render impartial decisions, 
know little of human experience. Love comes first, 
reason after^vard ; the child obeys and later learns why 
it should obey. Morality rests upon religion and re- 
ligion, taking hold upon the heart, exercises a control 
far greater than any logic can exercise over the mind. 

Look back over your lives and see how much of real 
moral principle you have added since you became of 



THE LAEGER LIFE 155 

age. You can better explain your faith ; your will is 
more firm, your determination more deeply rooted, but 
what new seed of morality has been sown since you 
reached the age when the reason is presumed to be 
mature ? 

While Christianity builds upon the affirmations of 
the New Testament and the positive virtues taught by 
the Saviour it is loyal, as Christ was, to the Com- 
mandments which God gave to the people through 
Moses. Most of these commandments — those rela- 
tive to man's duty to man — are written unto the 
statutes of state and nation; they form the basis of 
our laws. Those which relate to man's duty to God 
and which are not, therefore, legally binding are bind- 
ing on the conscience of Christians. 

The Christian Church from its earliest beginnings 
has enforced respect for parents. Parental authority 
is not only essential to the child's welfare during youth 
but it is necessary as a foundation upon which to build 
respect for government and for laws. The Christian 
home is the nursery of the State as well as of the 
Church. Loyalty to God and loyalty to government 
are easily learned by those who from infancy are 
taught obedience to those who have the right to in- 
struct and direct. 

The Christian Church stands also for Sabbath ob- 
servance. The right to worship God according to the 
dictates of one^s conscience is an inalienable right and 
any attempt to interfere with the full and free exercise 
of this right would and should arouse universal pro- 
test. Those who do not worship at all have no fear 



156 THE LAEGEE LIFE 

of molestation, but freedom of conscience is not in- 
terfered with by laws that provide opportunity for 
rest and guarantee leisure for worship. 

Man's body needs relaxation from toil and man's 
mind needs leisure as well These needs are so obvious 
that they are universally admitted. The spiritual na- 
ture requires refreshment also and this need is as im- 
perative as the needs of body and brain. As the spir- 
itual man is the dominant force in life and the meas- 
ure of the individual's usefulness, the nation cannot 
be less concerned about the people's spiritual growth 
and welfare than about their health and intellectual 
strength. 

It is both natural and proper that the day which is 
observed religiously by the general public should be 
selected as the day of rest also, respect being shown 
to those who conscientiously observe another day. 
Differences of opinion may exist in different localities 
as to what should be permitted on the Sabbath day, 
but experience has supported two propositions: first, 
that every citizen should be guaranteed time for rest 
and for worship, and, second, that every citizen should 
be guaranteed the peace and quiet necessary for both 
rest and worship. 

Here, as in nearly every other issue that concerns 
human welfare, the controversy is not between those 
who differ in opinions as to what is right and proper 
but between those, on the one side, who have a pe- 
cuniary interest in the promotion of things which are 
objectionable, and those, on the other, who seek to 
promote the common good. In other words, it is the 



THE LAEGEE LIFE 157 

old conflict between money and morals: between self- 
ishness and the public weal. 

While Christ was all love and all compassion and 
all tenderness He never hesitated to draw the line 
and draw it rigidly against folly as well as against sin. 
The parable of the Ten Virgins is a case in point. 
Five were wise and five were foolish, the evidence of 
the difference being found in the fact that five were 
prudent enough to supply themselves with oil sufficient 
for an emergency. The other five, lacking wisdom, 
took only the oil that they could carry in their lamps. 
When the need came the foolish turned to the wise 
and said, " Give us of your oil," but the wise refused 
lest they should not have enough for themselves and 
the others. Were they censured? No. The parable 
teaches one of the most important lessons to be learned 
in life, namely, that the foolish cannot be saved from 
punishment. It is punishment that converts folly into 
wisdom and saves the world from a race of fools. 

The parable has wide-spread application. The 
foolish parent cannot be saved from the sorrow in- 
flicted by a spoiled child ; the idle cannot be saved from 
hunger and want; the lazy cannot be given the re- 
wards of the diligent. The success that attends effort 
and rewards character cannot be awarded to the un- 
deserving without paralyzing all the incentives to vir- 
tue and industry. Christ came not to destroy the law 
— either that revealed in the Word of God or that 
which was written on nature — He came to fulfill. In 
the brief years that He taught His disciples and the 
multitude He quoted the law and illustrated it. He 



168 THE LAEGER LIFE 

did not come to relieve men of responsibility — He 
came to light the way — " That they might have life 
and that they might have it more abundantly." 

Christ's doctrines are not limited in time or to num- 
bers. They apply to everybody and last for all time. 
Paul, in Romans 12: 20, interprets the Master's 
teachings and applies them. " Therefore, if thine 
enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him 
drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire 
on his head." How different this way of dealing from 
the way the carnal man acts, and yet who can question 
the wisdom of the Saviour's plan? Hatred begets 
hatred; retaliation invites retaliation and the feud 
grows. The mountains of Kentucky have furnished 
numerous illustrations of the futility of revenge. 
Families were arrayed against families and sons took 
up inherited hatreds and died violent deaths bequeath- 
ing the spirit of revenge to their descendants. 

We see the same false philosophy at work among 
nations. One war lays the foundation for another; 
generation after generation is sworn to avenge the 
crimes of preceding generations; and much of it is 
done in the name of patriotism and glorified as if it 
were service to the country. 

Paul gives us the remedy and it is based upon the 
injunction that Jesus gave, namely, Love your 
enemies. Feeding an enemy is more effective than 
threats of punishment. It is a manifestation of love, 
and love is the weapon for which there is no shield. 
The philosophy that Paul applies to the individual is 
just as effective when applied to larger groups. Na- 



THE LAEGEE LIFE 159 

tions that have been at war cannot be reconciled by 
the methods of war. They can be suppressed by force 
but unless won by friendship there can be no reunion. 

Paul concludes this chapter with a command " Be 
not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." 
There never was a time in the world's history when 
this kind of doctrine was more imperatively needed 
for the healing of the wounds of the unprecedented 
conflict through which the world has passed. Christ 
has a remedy; Let the wrongs of the past be forgiven 
and forgotten; let the world be invited to build on 
friendship and cooperation. Let the rivalry be in the 
showing of magnanimity. Who dares to say that the 
plan will fail? The alternative policy has failed and 
failed miserably. Why not employ the only untried 
remedy for the ills which afflict civilization? 

And the gifts of the Man of Galilee are permanent; 
they survive the tomb. As one nears the end of life 
he becomes conscious of an inner longing to attach 
himself to institutions that will outlive him. His af- 
fections having gone out to his fellows, and his heart 
having entwined itself with the causes that embrace 
all humankind, he does not like to drop out and be 
forgotten. His sympathies expand and sympathy is 
the real blood of the heart, forced by the pulsations of 
that major organ through all the arteries of society. 
Have you thought how few of each generation are 
remembered after death by any one outside of a small 
circle of friends? We have an hundred millions of 
people living in the largest republic in history — one 
of the greatest nations the world has ever known — and 



160 THE LAEGEE LIFE 

yet how many names will survive for a century after 
those who bore the names are buried? The vanity of 
man is rebuked by a visit to any old, neglected ceme- 
tery. As Bryant puts it 

" The world will laugh when thou art gone 
And solemn brood of care plod on 
And each one as before will chase his favourite 
phantom/' 

It is partly to escape this dread oblivion that men 
and women, blessed with means, endow hospitals and 
colleges and charitable institutions. They yearn for 
an immortality on earth as well as in the world be- 
yond, and nothing but the spiritual has promise of 
the life everlasting. 

If we examine our expense accounts we will be 
ashamed to note how large a proportion of our money 
we spend on the body. We buy it the food that it 
most enjoys, and the raiment that most adorns it; we 
give it habitations of comfort and beauty, and yet the 
body is responsible for most of our easily besetting 
sins and its aches and pains fill life with much of its 
misery. We spend the first twenty years of life in an 
effort to develop the body, the second twenty years 
of life in an effort to keep it in a state of health and 
twenty more trying to preserve it from decline, and 
then the threescore years have passed. And, no mat- 
ter how successful we may be in lifting the body to- 
ward physical perfection, we have no assurance that 
any physical perfection can be made use of in the 
world above. I believe in the resurrection of the body, 



THE LAEGBE LIFE 161 

but I have not spent much time during the later years 
in worrying about what particular body I shall have 
over there. According to the scientists the body 
changes every seven years. If that be true, I have 
done little more than exchange an old body for a new 
one during the more than sixty years that I have 
lived. I had a baby body and a boy's body, then the 
body of a young man, and so on until I am now well 
along with my ninth body* I do not know which one 
of these will be best for me in the next world, but I 
know that the God who made this world and gave me 
an existence in it will give me, in the land beyond, the 
body that will best serve me there. 

Neither have we any assurance that the perfections 
of the mind survive the day of death. We spend a 
great deal of time on the mind, for this is an age of 
intellectual enthusiasm. My experience has not been 
diflferent from the experience of others. My mother 
taught me at home until I was ten; then my parents 
sent me to the public school until I was fifteen; then I 
spent two years in an academy preparing for college ; 
then four years in college and then two years in a law 
school. After nearly twenty years of schooling I took 
part in my last " Commencement," and then I began 
to learn, and have been learning ever since. I have 
accumulated something of history, something of 
science, a bit of poetry and philosophy, and I have 
read speeches without number. I have accumulated 
a large amount of information on politics and poli- 
ticians that I know I shall not need in Heaven, if 
Heaven is half as good a place as I expect it to be. 



162 THE LAEGEE LIFE 

How much of the intellectual wealth that we have so 
laboriously acquired can we carry with us? We do 
not know. 

But we know that that which is spiritual does not 
die — that the heart virtues will accompany us when 
we enter the future life. In the parable of the Tares, 
Christ explains that, just as the tares and the wheat 
grow together tmtil the harvest, so the righteous and 
the unrighteous live together in this world, but that on 
the day of judgment they shall be separated. Then 
shall the righteous " shine forth as the sun in the king- 
dom of their Father." We have no promise that the 
body will shine even as a star, or that the mind will 
shine even as one of the planets, but the sun in its 
splendour is used to illustrate the brightness with 
which those will shine who are counted righteous in 
that day. 

I esteem it a privilege to be permitted to present 
the claims of the Larger Life to which Jesus, the 
Christ, calls all of the children of men. Why will one 
choose a life that is small and contracted, when there 
is within his reach the life that is full and complete — 
the Larger Life? Why will he be content with the 
pleasures of the body and the joys of the mind when 
he can have added to them the delights of the spirit? 
How can he delay acceptance of Christ's offer to en- 
noble that which he has, and to add to it the things 
that are highest and best and most enduring? This 
IS the life that Christ brought to light when He came 
that men might have life and have it more abundantly. 



VI 
THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 

THE fact that Christ dealt with this subject is 
proof conclusive that it is important, for He 
never dealt with trivial things. When 
Christ focused attention upon a theme it was because 
it was worthy of consideration — and Christ weighed 
the soul. He presented the subject, too, with surpass- 
ing force; no one will ever add to what He said. 
Christ used the question to give emphasis to the 
thought which He presented in regard to the soul's 
value. 

On one side He put the world and all that the world 
can contain — all the wealth that one can accumulate, 
all the fame to which one can aspire, and all the hap- 
piness that one can covet; and on the other side He 
put the soul, and asked the question that has come 
ringing down the centuries: "What shall it profit a 
man if he gain the whole world and lose his own 
soul?'' 

There is no compromise here — ^no partial statement 
of the matter. He leaves us to write one term of the 
equation ourselves. He gives us all the time we de- 
sire, and allows the imagination to work to the limit, 
and when we have gathered together into one sum all 
things but the soul, He asks — What if you gain it all 
— ALL — ^ALL, and lose the soul? What is the profit? 

163 



164 THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 

Some have thought the soul question a question of 
the next world only, but it is a question of this world 
also; some have thought the soul question a Sabbath- 
day question only, but it is a week-day question as 
well; some have thought the soul question a question 
for the ministers alone, but it is a question which we 
all must meet. Every day and every week, every 
month and every year, from the time we reach the 
period of accountability until we die, we — each of us 
— all of us, weigh the soul; and just in proportion as 
we put the soul above all things else we build char- 
acter ; the moment we allow the soul to become a mat- 
ter of merchandise, we start on the downward way. 

Tolstoy says that if you would Investigate the 
career of a criminal it is not sufficient to begin with 
the commission of a crime ; that you must go back to 
that day in his life when he deliberately trampled 
upon his conscience and did that which he knew to be 
wrong. And so with all of us, the turning point in 
the life is the day when we surrender the soul for 
something that for the time being seems more desir- 
able. 

Most of the temptations that come to us to sell the 
soul come in connection with the getting of money. 
The Bible says, " The love of money is the root of all 
evil" Or, as the Revised Version gives it, "A root 
of all kinds of evil.'* 

Because so m.any of our temptations come through 
the love of money and the effort to obtain it, it is 
worth while to consider the laws of accumulation. 
We must all have money; we need food and clothing 



THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 165 

and shelter, and money is necessary for the purchase 
of these things. Money is not an evil in itself — 
money is, in fact, a very useful servant It is bad 
only when it becomes the master, and the love of it is 
hurtful only because it can, and often does, crowd 
out the love of nobler things. 

But since we must all use money and must in our 
active days store up money for the days when our 
strength fails, let us see if we can agree upon God's 
law of rewards. (See lecture on " His Government 
and Peace.") 

How much money can a man rightfully collect from 
society? Surely, there can be no disagreement here. 
He cannot rightfully collect more than he honestly 
earns. If a man collects more than he earns, he col- 
lects what somebody else has earned, and we call it 
stealing if a man takes that which belongs to an- 
other. Not only is a man limited in his collection of 
what he honestly earns, but will an honest man desire 
to collect more than he earns ? 

If a man cannot rightfully collect more than he 
honestly earns, it is then a matter of the utmost im- 
portance to know how^ much money a man can hon- 
estly earn. I venture an answer to this, namely, that 
a man cannot honestly earn more than fairly measures 
the value of the service which he renders to society. 
I cannot conceive of any way of earning money except 
to give to society a service equivalent in value to the 
money collected. This is a fundamental proposition 
and it is important that it should be clearly understood, 
for if one desires to collect largely from society he 



166 THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 

must be prepared to render a large service to society; 
and our schools and colleges, our churches and all 
other organizations for the improvement of man have 
for one of their chief objects the enlargement of the 
capacity for service. 

There is an apparent exception in the case of an in- 
heritance, but it is not a real exception, for if the man 
who leaves the money has honestly earned it, he has 
already given society a service of equivalent value and, 
therefore, has a right to distribute it. And money 
received by inheritance is either payment for service 
already rendered, or payment in advance for service to 
be rendered. No right-minded person will accept 
money, even by inheritance, without recognizing the 
obligation it imposes to render a service in return. 
This service is not always rendered to the one from 
whom this money is received, but often to society in 
general. In fact, most of the blessings which we re- 
ceive come to us in such a way that we cannot dis- 
tinguish the donors and must make our return to the 
whole public. If one is not compelled to work for 
himself he has the larger pleasure of working for the 
public. 

But I need not dwell upon this, because in this coun- 
try more than anywhere else in the world we appre- 
ciate the dignity of labour and understand that it is 
honourable to serve. And yet there is room for im- 
provement, for all over our land there are, scattered 
here and there, young men and young women — and 
even parents — ^who still think that it is more respect- 
able for a young man to spend in idleness the money 



THE VALUE OP THE SOUL 167 

some one else has earned than to be himself a pro- 
ducer of wealth. As long as this sentiment is to be 
found anywhere there is educational work to be done, 
for public opinion will never be what it ought to be 
until it puts the badge of disgrace upon the idler, no 
matter how rich he may be, rather than upon the 
man who with brain or muscle contributes to the Na- 
tion's wealth, the Nation's strength and the Nation's 
progress. 

But, as I said, the inheritance is an apparent, not an 
actual, exception, and we will return to the original 
proposition — that one's earnings must be measured by 
the service rendered. This is so vital a proposition 
that I beg leave to dwell upon it a moment longer, to 
ask whether it is possible to fix in dollars and cents a 
maximum limit to the amount one can earn in a life- 
time. 

Let us begin with one hundred thousand dollars. 
If we estimate a working life at thirty-three and one- 
third years — and I think this is a fair estimate — a 
man must earn three thousand dollars per year on an 
average for thirty-three and one-third years to earn 
one hundred thousand dollars in a lifetime. I take it 
for granted that no one will deny that it is possible 
for one to earn this sum by rendering a service equal 
to it in value, but what shall we say of a million 
dollars? Can a man earn that much? To do so he 
must earn thirty thousand dollars a year for thirty- 
three and one-third years. Is it possible for one to 
render so large a service ? I believe It is. Well, what 
shall we say of ten millions ? To earn that much one 



168 THE VALUE OP THE SOUL 

must earn on an average three hundred thousand dol- 
lars a year for thirty-three and one-third years. Is it 
possible for one to render a service so large as to earn 
so vast a sum? At the risk of shocking some of 
my radical friends I am going to affirm that it is pos- 
sible. 

But can one earn an hundred million? Yes, I be- 
lieve that it is even possible to serve society to such 
an extent as to earn a hundred million in the span of 
a human life, or an average of three million a year for 
thirty-three and one-third years. We have one man 
in this country who is said to be worth five hundred 
million. To earn five hundred million one must earn 
on an average fifteen million a year for thirty-three 
and one-third years. Is this within the range of hu- 
man possibility? I believe that it is. Now, I have 
gone as high as any one has yet gone in collecting, but 
if there is any young man here with an ambition to 
render a larger service to the world, I will raise it an- 
other notch, if necessary, to encourage him. So al- 
most limitless are the possibilities of service in this 
age that I am not willing to fix a maximum to the 
sum a man can honestly and legitimately earn. 

Not only do I believe that one can earn five hun- 
dred million, but I believe that men have earned it. 

In this and other countries many in public life 
might be mentioned, for even in politics men have 
great opportunities, which, if rightly improved, enable 
them to render incalculable service to their fellow- 
men. 

But let us go outside of politics. What shall we 



THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 169 

say of the man who gave to the world a knowledge of 
the use of steam and revolutionized the transportation 
of the globe? How much did he earn? And the man 
who brought down lightning from the clouds and im- 
prisoned it in a slender wire so that it lights our 
homes, draws our traffic across the land and carries 
our messages under the sea ; what did he earn ? And 
what of the man who showed us how to hurl our mes- 
sages thousands of miles through space without the 
aid of wire? And how much did the man earn who 
taught us how to wrap the human voice around a lit- 
tle cylinder so that it can be laid away and echo 
throughout the ages? 

Take a very recent invention, the gasolene engine. 
It has already given us the automobile and the flying 
machine, and heaven only knows what yet may come 
with that gasolene engine. My first ride in an auto- 
mobile was taken in the campaign of 1896; since then 
something like seventeen million automobiles have 
been brought into use. 

Have you thought of the value of the ice machine ? 
In Apalachicola, Florida, they have erected a little 
monument to a former citizen, Dr. John Gorry. A 
statue of him will be found in the capitol at Talla- 
hassee, and the state of Florida has put another in 
the Hall of Fame at Washington. Out of his brain 
came the idea that made it possible for the world to 
have ice to-day without regard to the temperature out- 
side. What did Gorry earn when he gave the world 
the ice machine? 

When I first visited the Patent Office at Washing- 



170 THE VALUE OP THE SOUL 

ton I saw a model of the first sewing machine. On it 
was a card on which was written: 

" Mine are sinews superhuman, 

Ribs of brass and nerves of steel ; 
I'm the iron needle woman, 
Born to toil but not to feel." 

What did the man earn who gave the world a sewing 
machine ? 

These are only a few of the great inventions. Let 
us take up another group. To show how wide is the 
field of measureless endeavour, I call attention to the 
work of scientists. Who will measure the value of 
anesthetics in the treatment of disease and injury? 
What of vaccination and the labours of Pasteur? Who 
will estimate the value of the service rendered by the 
man who gave us a remedy for typhoid? In 1898 
hundreds died of typhoid fever in the little army that 
was raised for the war with Spain— twenty-seven of 
my regiment died of that disease. Now we have a 
remedy so complete that of the nearly a million men 
who reached the battle-line in France not one died of 
typhoid, and only one hundred and twenty-five of the 
four millions called to the colours. 

Have you tried to estimate the service rendered by 
Reed, who, in finding a remedy for yellow fever, made 
the tropics habitable and made it possible for the 
United States to add the Panama Canal to our great 
achievements ? 

But the field is larger still. Raikes established a 
Sunday school and now we have Sunday schools all 



THE VALUE OP THE SOUL 171 

over the world; Williams organized a Young Men's 
Christian Association and now there are nine thou- 
sand associations and more than a million and a half 
members march under the banners of that organiza- 
tion, half of them in the United States. Forty years 
ago a young preacher in Portland, Maine, gathered a 
few young people about him and formed a Christian 
Endeavour Society; now it numbers more than four 
million members. That young preacher, Dr. Francis 
E. Clark, is now one of the great religious leaders of 
the world and is Commander-in-Chief of this mili- 
tant organization which is larger than the army that 
did our part in the World War. What has he earned ? 

Near Rochester, New York, there is a little town 
that has the proud distinction of being the birthplace 
of Frances Willard. There was nothing to distinguish 
her from other little girls when she was in school, but 
when she reached womanhood she gave her heart to a 
great cause; she became president of the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union, probably the greatest 
of the organizations among women ever formed. Un- 
der her leadership that organization brought into the 
schools of the land instruction as to the effect of 
alcohol upon the system and that did more than any 
other one thing, I think, to bring National Prohibi- 
tion. The state of Illinois has placed the statue of 
this great woman in the Hall of Fame in the National 
Capitol ; she is the first woman to be thus honoured. 
What has she earned? 

And so I might continue, for the name of the 
world's great benefactors is legion. And besides those 



172 THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 

whose services were of incalculable value a multitude 
have earned lesser sums ranging down to a modest 
fortune. Every one can earn enough to supply all 
needs. Every time I speak to the students of a col- 
lege, high school, or primary grade I cannot help 
thinking that within the room there may be a boy or 
girl who will catch a vision of great achievement and, 
consecrating a life of service, do a work so valuable 
that all the arithmetics will not compute its worth. 

But if I could furnish you a list containing the 
names of all who since time began rendered a service 
worth five hundred millions, one thing would be true 
of every one of them; namely, that never in a single 
case did the person collect the full amount earned. 
Those who have earned five hundred millions have 
been so busy earning it that they have not had time 
to collect it, and those who have collected five hundred 
millions have been so busy collecting it that they have 
not had time to earn it. Then, too, it must be remem- 
bered that those who render the greatest service serve 
more than their own generation — some serve all who 
live afterward so that it is never possible to compute 
what they have earned. 

And what is more, those who render the largest 
service do not care to collect the full amount earned. 
What could they do with the sum that they actually 
earn? Or, what is more important, what would so 
great a sum do zvith them? 

In that wonderful parable of the Sower, Christ 
speaks of the seeds that fell and of the thorns that 
sprang up and choked them, and He Himself ex- 



THE VALUE OP THE SOUL 173 

plained what He meant by this illustration, namely: 
That the care of this world and the deceitfulness of 
riches choke the truth. If the great benefactors of the 
race had been burdened with the care of big fortunes, 
they could not have devoted themselves to the nobler 
things that gave them a place in the affection of their 
people and In history. 

It seems, therefore, that while one cannot rightfully 
collect more than he honestly earns, he may earn more 
than it would be wise for him to collect. And that 
brings us to the next question: How much should one 
desire to collect from society? I answer, that no 
matter how large a service one may render or how 
much he may earn, he should not desire to collect 
more than he can wisely spend. 

And how much can one wisely spend? Not as 
much as you might think — ^not nearly as much as some 
have tried to spend. No matter how honestly money 
may be acquired, one is not free to spend it at will. 
We are hedged about by certain restrictions that we 
can neither remove nor ignore. God has written cer- 
tain laws in our nature — laws that no legislature can 
repeal — laws that no court can declare unconstitu- 
tional, and these laws limit us in our expenditures. 

Let us consider some of the things for which we 
can properly spend money. We need food — ^we all 
need food, and we need about the same amount; not 
exactly, but the difference in quantity is not great. 
The range in expenditure is greater than the range in 
quantity, because expenditure covers kind and quality 
as well as quantity. But there is a limit even tp ex- 



174 THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 

penditure. If a man eats too much he suffers for it. 
If he squanders his money on high-priced foods, he 
wears his stomach out. There is an old saying which 
we have all heard, viz., " The poor man is looking for 
food for his stomach, while the rich man is going 
from one watering place to another looking for a 
stomach for his food." This is only a witty way of 
expressing a sober truth, namely, that one is limited 
in the amount of money he can wisely spend for food. 

We need clothing — we all need clothing, and we 
need about the same amount. The difference in 
quantity is not great. The range in expenditure for 
clothing is greater than the range in quantity, because 
expenditure covers style and variety as well as 
quantity, but there is a limit to the amount of money 
one can wisely spend for clothing. If a man has so 
much clothing that it takes all of his time to change 
his clothes, he has more than he needs and more than 
he can wisely buy. 

We need homes — we all need shelter and we need 
about the same amount. In fact, God was very demo- 
cratic in the distribution of our needs, for He so cre- 
ated us that our needs are about the same. The range 
of expenditure for homes is probably wider than in 
the case of either food or clothing. We are inter- 
ested in the home. I never pass a little house where 
two young people are starting out in life without a 
feeling of sympathetic Interest in that home ; I never 
pass a house where a room is being added without 
feeling interested, for I know the occupants have 
planned it, and looked forward to it and waited for it ; 



THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 176 

I like to see a little house moved back and a larger 
house built, for I know it is the fulfillment of a dream. 
I have had some of these dreams myself, and I know 
how they lead us on and inspire us to larger effort 
and greater endeavour, and yet there is a limit to the 
amount one can wisely spend even for so good a thing 
as a home. 

If a man gets too big a house it becomes a burden 
to him, and many have had this experience. Not in- 
frequently a young couple start out poor and struggle 
along in a little house, looking forward to the time 
when they can build a big house. After a while the 
time arrives and they build a big house, larger, pos- 
sibly, than they intended to, and it nearly always 
costs more than they thought it would, and then they 
struggle along the rest of their lives looking back to 
the time when they lived in a little house. 

We speak of people being independently rick That 
is a mistake; they are dependently rich. The richer 
a man is the more dependent he is — ^the more people 
he depends upon to help him collect his income, and the 
more people he depends upon to help him spend his in- 
come. Sometimes a couple will start out doing their 
own work — the wife doing the work inside the house 
and the man outside. But they prosper, and after a 
while they are able to afford help; they get a girl to 
help the wife inside and a man to help the husband 
outside; then they prosper more — and they get two 
girls to help inside and two men to help outside, then 
three girls inside and three men outside. Finally they 
have so many girls helping inside and so many men 



176 THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 

helping outside that they cannot leave the house — ^they 
have to stay at home and look after the establishment. 

This is not a new condition. One of the Latin 
poets complained of " the cares that hover about the 
fretted ceilings of the rich ! " It was this condition 
that inspired Charles Wagner to write his little book 
entitled " The Simple Life," in which he entered an 
eloquent protest against the materialism which makes 
man the slave of his possessions; he presented an 
earnest plea for the raising of the spiritual above the 
purely physical. I repeat, that there is a limit to the 
amount a man can wisely spend upon a home. 

I need not remind you that the rich are tempted to 
spend money on the vices that destroy — money hon- 
estly earned may thus become a curse rather than a 
blessing. 

But a man can give his money away. Yes, and no 
one who has ever tried it will deny that more pleasure 
is to be derived from the giving of money to a cause 
in which one's heart is interested, than can be ob- 
tained from the expenditure of the same amount in 
selfish indulgence. But if one is going to give largely 
he must spend a great deal of time in investigating 
and in comparing the merits of the different enter- 
prises. I am persuaded that there is a better life than 
the life led by those who spend nearly all the time ac- 
cumulating beyond their needs and then employ the 
last few days in giving it away. What the world 
needs is not a few men of great wealth, doling out 
their money in anticipation of death — ^what the world 
needs is that these men link themselves in sympathetic 



THE VALUE OP THE SOUL 177 

interest with struggling humanity and help to solve 
problems of to-day, instead of creating problems for 
the next generation to solve. 

But you say, a man can leave his money to his chil- 
dren? He can, if he dares. A large fortune, in an- 
ticipation, has ruined more sons than it has ever 
helped. If a young man has so much money coming to 
him that he knows he will never have to work, the 
chances are that it will sap his energy, even if it does 
not undermine his character, and leave him a curse 
rather than a blessing to those who brought him into 
the world. 

And it is scarcely safer to leave the money to a 
daughter. For, if a young woman has a prospective 
inheritance so large that, when a young man calls upon 
her, she cannot tell whether he is calling upon her or 
her father, it is embarrassing— especially so if she 
finds after marriage that he married the wrong mem- 
ber of the family. And, I may add, that the daugh- 
ters of the very rich are usually hedged about by a 
social environment which prevents their making the 
acquaintance of the best young men. The men who, 
twenty-five years from now, will be the leaders in 
business, in society, in government, and in the Church, 
are not the pampered sons of the rich, but the young 
men who, with good health and good habits, with high 
ideals and strong ambition, are, under the spur of 
necessity, laying the foundation for future achieve- 
ments, and these young men do not have a chance to 
become acquainted with the daughters of the very rich. 
Even if they did know them they might hesitate to 



178 THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 

enter upon the scale of expenditure to which these 
daughters are accustomed. 

I have dealt at length with these fixed limitations, 
although we all know of them or ought to. The 
ministers tell us about these things Sunday after Sun- 
day, or should, and yet we find men chasing the al- 
mighty dollar until they fall exhausted into the grave. 
Dr. Talmage dealt with this subject; he said that a 
man who wore himself out getting money that he did 
not need, would finally drop dead, and that his pastor 
would tell a group of sorrowing friends that, by a 
mysterious dispensation of Providence, the good man 
had been cut off in his prime. Dr. Talmage said that 
Providence had nothing to do with it, and that the 
minister ought to tell the truth about it, and say that 
the man had been kicked to death by the golden 
calf. 

Some years ago I read a story by Tolstoy, and I did 
not notice until I had completed it that the title of the 
story was, "What shall it profit?" The great 
Russian graphically presented the very thought that 
I have been trying to impress upon your minds. He 
told of a Russian who had land hunger — who added 
farm to farm and land to land, but could never get 
enough. After a while he heard of a place where 
land was cheaper and he sold his land and went and 
bought more land. But he had no more than settled 
there until he heard of another place among a half- 
civilized people where land was cheaper still. He 
took a servant and went into this distant country and 
hunted up the head man of the tribe, who offered him 



THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 179 

all the land he could walk around in a day for a thou- 
sand rubles — told him he could put the money down 
on any spot and walk in any direction as far and as 
fast as he would, and that, if he was back by sunset, 
he could have all the land he had encompassed during 
the day. He put the money down upon the ground and 
started at sunrise to get, at last, enough land. He 
started leisurely, but as he looked upon the land it 
looked so good that he hurried a little — and then he 
hurried more, and then he went faster still. Before 
he turned he had gone further in that direction than he 
had intended, but he spurred himself on and started 
on the second side. Before he turned again the sun 
had crossed the meridian and he had two sides yet to 
cover. As the sun was slowly sinking in the west he 
constantly accelerated his pace, alarmed at last for 
fear he had undertaken too much and might lose it all. 
He reached the starting point, however, just as the 
sun went down, but he had overtaxed his strength and 
fell dead upon the spot. His servant dug a grave for 
him; he only needed six feet of ground then, the same 
that others needed — the rest of the land was of no 
use to him. Thus Tolstoy told the story of many a 
life — not the life of the very rich only, but the story 
of every life in which the love of money is the con- 
trolling force and in which the desire for gain shrivels 
the soul and leaves the life a failure at last. 

I desire to show you how practical this subject is. 
If time permitted I could take up every occupation, 
every avocation, every profession and every calling, 
and show you that no matter which way we turn — 



180 THE VALUE OP THE SOUL 

no matter what we do — we are always and everywhere 
weighing the Soul. 

In the brief time that it is proper for me to occupy, 
I shall apply the thought to those departments of hu- 
man activity in which the sale of a soul affects others 
largely as well as the individual who makes the bar- 
gain. 

Take the occupation in which I am engaged, jour- 
nalism. It presents a great field — a growing field; in 
fact, there are few fields so large. The journalist is 
both a news gatherer and a moulder of thought. He 
informs his readers as to what is going on, and he 
points out the relation between cause and effect — in- 
terprets current history. Public opinion is the con- 
trolling force in a republic, and the newspaper gives 
to the journalist, beyond every one else, the oppor- 
tunity to affect public opinion. Others reach the 
readers through the courtesy of the newspaper, but 
the owner of the paper has full access to his own 
columns, and does not fear the blue pencil. ^ 

The journalist occupies the position of a watchman 
upon a tower. He is often able to see dangers which 
are not observ^ed by the general public, and, because 
he can see these dangers, he is in a position of greater 
responsibility. Is he discharging the duty which su- 
perior opportunity imposes upon him? Year by year 
the disclosures are bringing to light the fact that the 
predator}^ interests are using many newspapers and even 
some magazines for the defense of commercial iniquity 
and for the purpose of attacking those who lift their 
voices against favouritism and privilege, A financial 



THE VALUE OP THE SOUL 181 

magnate interested in the exploitation of the public 
secures control of a paper; he employs business man- 
agers, editors, and a reportorial staff. He does not 
act openly or in the daylight but through a group of 
employees who are the visible but not the real direct- 
ors. The reporters are instructed to bring in the kind 
of news that will advance the enterprises owned by 
the man who stands back of the paper, and if the 
news brought in is not entirely satisfactory, it is 
doctored in the office. The columns of the paper are 
filled with matter, written not for the purpose of pre- 
senting facts as they exist, but for the purpose of dis- 
torting facts and misleading the public. The editorial 
writers, whose names are generally unknown to the 
public, are told what to say and what subjects to 
avoid. They are instructed to extol the merits of 
those who are subservient to the interests represented 
by the paper, and to misrepresent and traduce those 
who dare to criticize or oppose the plans of those who 
hide behind the paper. Such journalists are members 
of a kind of " Black Hand Society " ; they are assas- 
sins, hiding in ambush and striking in the dark; and 
the worst of it is that the readers have no sure way of 
knowing when a real change takes place in the owner- 
ship of such a paper notwithstanding the fact that a 
recent law requires publication of ownership. 

There are degrees of culpability and some are dis- 
posed to hold an editorial writer guiltless even when 
they visit condemnation upon the secret director of 
the paper's policy. I present to you a different — and 
I believe higher — ideal of journalism. If we are go- 



182 THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 

ing to make any progress in morals we must abandon 
the idea that morals are defined by the statutes; we 
must recognize that there is a wide margin between 
that which the law prohibits and that which an en- 
lightened conscience can approve. We do not legislate 
against the man who uses the printed page for the 
purpose of deception but, viewed from the standpoint 
of morals, the man who, whether voluntarily or under 
instructions, writes what he knows to be untrue or 
purposely misleads his readers as to the character of 
a proposition upon which they have to act, is as guilty 
of wrong-doing as the man who assists in any other 
swindling transaction. 

Another method employed to mislead the public is 
the publication of editorial matter supplied by those 
who have an interest to serve. This evil is even more 
common than secrecy as to the ownership of the paper. 
In the case of the weekly papers and the smaller dailies, 
the proprietor is generally known, and it is under- 
stood that the editorial pages represent his views. His 
standing and character give weight to that which ap- 
pears with his endorsement. A few years ago, when 
a railroad rate bill was before Congress, a number of 
railroads joined in an effort to create public sentiment 
against the bill. Bureaus were established for the dis- 
semination of literature, and a number of newspapers 
entered into contract to publish as editorial matter the 
material furnished by these bureaus. This cannot be 
defended in ethics. The secret purchase of the 
editorial columns is a crime against the public and a 
disgrace to journalism, and yet we have frequent oc- 



THE VALUE OP THE SOUL 183 

casion to note this degradation of the newspaper. A 
few years ago Senator Carter, of Montana, speaking 
in the United States Senate, read several printed slips 
which were sent out by a bankers' association to 
local bankers with the request that they be inserted in 
the local papers as editorials, suggestion being made 
that the instructions to the local bankers be removed 
before they were handed to the papers. The purpose 
of the bankers' association was to stimulate opposition 
to the postal savings bank, a policy endorsed affirma- 
tively by the Republican party and, conditionally, by 
the Democratic party, the two platforms being sup- 
ported at the polls by more than ninety per cent, of 
the voters. The bankers' associations were opposing 
the policy, and, in sending out its literature, they were 
endeavouring to conceal the source of that literature 
and to make it appear that the printed matter repre- 
sented the opinion of some one in the community. 

The journalist who would fully perform his duty 
must be not only incorruptible, but ever alert, for 
those w^ho are trying to misuse the newspapers are able 
to deceive " the very elect. '* Whenever any movement 
is on foot for the securing of legislation desired by 
the predatory interests, or when restraining legislation 
is threatened, news bureaus are established at Wash- 
ington, and these news bureaus furnish to such papers 
as will use them free reports, daily or weekly as the 
case may be, from the national capitol — reports which 
purport to give general news, but which in fact contain 
arguments in support of the schemes which the bureaus 
are organized to advance. This ingenious method of 



184 THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 

misleading the public is only a part of the general plan 
which favour-holding and favour-seeking corporations 
pursue. 

Demosthenes declared that the man who refuses a 
bribe conquers the man who offers it. According to 
this, the journalist who resists the many temptations 
which come to him to surrender his ideals has the 
consciousness of winning a moral victory as well as 
the satisfaction of knowing that he is rendering a real 
service to his fellows. 

The profession for which I was trained — the law — 
presents another line of temptations. The court-room 
is a souFs market where many barter away their ideals 
in the hope of winning wealth or fame. Lawyers 
sometimes boast of the number of men whose acquittal 
they have secured when they knew them to be guilty, 
and of advantages won which they knew their clients 
did not deserve. I do not understand how a lawyer 
can so boast, for he is an officer of the court and, as 
such, is sworn to assist in the administration of jus- 
tice. When a lawyer has helped his client to obtain 
all that his client is entitled to, he has done his full 
duty as a lawyer, and, if he goes beyond this, he goes 
at his own peril. Show me a lawyer who has spent 
a lifetime trying to obscure the line between right and 
wrong — trying to prove that to be just which he knew 
to be unjust, and I will show you a man who has 
grown weaker in character year by year, and whose 
advice, at last, will be of no value to his clients, for 
he will have lost the power to discern between right 
and wrong. Show me, on the other hand, a lawyer 



THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 186 

who has spent a lifetime in the search for truth, de- 
termined to follow where it leads, and I will show you 
a man who has grown stronger in character day by 
day and whose advice constantly becomes more valu- 
able to his client, because the power to discern the 
truth increases with the honest search for it. 

Not only in the court-room, but in the consultation 
chamber also the lawyer sometimes yields to the temp- 
tation to turn his talents to a sordid use. The schemes 
of spoliation that defy the officers of the law are, for 
the most part, inaugurated and directed by legal minds. 
I was speaking on this very subject in one of the great 
cities of the country and at the close of the address, 
a prominent judge commended my criticism and de- 
clared that most of the lawyers practicing in his court 
were constantly selling their souls. 

The lawyer's position is scarcely less responsible 
than the position of the journalist; if the journalists 
and lawyers of the country could be brought to ab- 
stain from the practices by which the general public 
is overreached, it would be an easy matter to secure 
the remedial legislation necessary to protect the pro- 
ducing masses from the constant spoliation to which 
they are now subjected by the privileged classes. 

If a man who is planning a train-robbery takes an- 
other along to hold a horse at a convenient distance, 
we say that the man who holds the horse is equally 
guilty with the man who robs the train ; and the time 
will come when public opinion will hold as equally 
guilty with the plunderers of society the lawyers and 
journalists who assist the plunderers to escape. 



186 THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 

I would not be forgiven if I failed to apply my 
theme to the work of the instructor. The purpose of 
education is not merely to develop the mind; it is to 
prepare men and women for society's work and for 
citizenship. The ideals of the teacher, therefore, are 
of the first importance. The pupil is apt to be as much 
influenced by what his teacher is as by what the teacher 
says or does. The measure of a school cannot be 
gathered from an inspection of the examination pa- 
pers; the conception of life which the graduate carries 
away must be counted in estimating the benefits con- 
ferred. The pecuniary rewards of the teacher are 
usually small when compared with the rewards of 
business. This may be due in part to our failure to 
properly appreciate the work which the teacher does, 
but it may be partially accounted for by the fact that 
the teacher derives from his work a satisfaction 
greater than that obtained from most other employ- 
ments. 

The teacher comes into contact with the life of the 
student and, as our greatest joy is derived from the 
consciousness of having benefited others, the teacher 
rightly counts as a part of his compensation the con- 
tinuing pleasure to be found in the knowledge that he 
is projecting his influence through future generations. 
The heart plays as large a part as the head in the 
teacher's work, because the heart is an important fac- 
tor in every life and in the shaping of the destiny of 
the race. I fear the plutocracy of wealth; I respect 
the aristocracy of learning; but I thank God for the 
democracy of the heart. It is upon the heart level 



THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 187 

that we meet ; it is by the characteristics of the heart 
that we best know and best remember each other. 
Astronomers tell us the distance of each star from the 
earth, but no mathematician can calculate the influence 
which a noble teacher may exert upon posterity. And 
yet, even the teacher may fall from his high estate, 
and, forgetting his immeasurable responsibility, yield 
to the temptation to estimate his work by its pecuniary 
reward. Just now some of the teachers are — let us 
hope, unconsciously — undermining the religious faith 
of students by substituting the guesses of Darwin for 
the Word of God. 

Let me turn for a moment from the profession and 
the occupation to the calling. I am sure I shall not 
be accused of departing from the truth when I say 
that even those who minister to our spiritual wants 
and, as our religious leaders, help to fix our standards 
of morality, sometimes prove unfaithful to their trust. 
They are human, and the frailities of man obscure 
the light which shines from within, even when that 
light is a reflection from the throne of God. 

We need more Elijahs in the pulpit to-day — ^more 
men who will dare to upbraid an Ahab and defy a 
Jezebel. It is possible, aye, probable, that even now, 
as of old, persecutions would follow such boldness 
of speech, but he who consecrates himself to religion 
must smite evil wherever he finds it, although in smit- 
ing it he may risk his salary and his social position. 
It is easy enough to denounce the petty thief and the 
back-alley gambler; it is easy enough to condemn the 
friendless rogue and the penniless wrong-doer, but 



188 THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 

what about the rich tax-dodger, the big lawbreaker, 
and the corrupter of government? The soul that is 
warmed by divine fire will be satisfied with nothing 
less than the complete performance of duty; it must 
cry aloud and spare not, to the end that the creed of 
the Christ may be exemplified in the life of the nation. 

We need Elijahs now to face the higher critics. 
Instead of allowing the materialists to cut the super- 
natural out of the Bible the ministers should demand 
that the unsupported guesses be cut out of school- 
books dealing with science. 

Not only does the soul question present itself to 
individuals, but it presents itself to groups of individ- 
uals as well. 

Let us consider the party. A political party cannot 
be better than its ideal; in fact, it is good in propor- 
tion as its ideal is worthy, and its place in history is 
determined by its adherence to a high purpose. The 
party is made for its members, not the members for 
the party; and a party is useful, therefore, only as it 
is a means through which one may protect his rights, 
guard his interests and promote the public welfare. 
The best service that a man can render his party is 
to raise its ideals. He basely betrays his party's hopes 
and IS recreant to his duty to his party associates who 
seeks to barter away a noble party purpose for tem- 
porary advantages or for the spoils of office. It would 
be a reflection upon the intelligence and patriotism of 
the people to assert, or even to assume, that lasting 
benefit could be secured for a party by the lowering of 
its standards. He serves his party most loyally who 



THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 189 

serves his country most faithfully; it is a fatal error 
to suppose that a party can be permanently benefited 
by a betrayal of the people's interests. 

In every act of party life and party strife we weigh 
the soul. That the people have a right to have what 
they want in government is a fundamental principle 
in free government. Corruption in government comes 
from the attempt to substitute the will of a minority 
for the will of the majority. Every important meas- 
ure that comes up for consideration involves justice 
and injustice — right and wrong — and is, therefore, a 
question of conscience. As justice is the basis of a 
nation's strength and gives it hope of perpetuity, and, 
as the seeds of decay are sown whenever injustice 
enters into government, patriotism as well as con- 
science leads us to analyze every public question, ascer- 
tain the moral principle involved and then cast our 
influence, whether it be great or small, on the side of 
justice. 

The patriot must desire the triumph of that which 
is right above the triumph of that which he may think 
to be right if he is, in fact, mistaken ; and so the parti- 
zan, if he be an intelligent partizan, must be prepared 
to rejoice in his party's defeat if by that defeat his 
country is the gainer. One can afford to be in a 
minority, but he cannot afford to be wrong; if he is in 
a minority and right, he will some day be in the ma- 
jority. 

The activities of politics center about the election of 
candidates to office, and the official, under our system, 
represents both the party to which he belongs and the 



190 THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 

whole body of his constituency. He has two tempta- 
tions to withstand; first, the temptation to substitute 
his own judgment for the judgment of his constitu- 
ents, and second, the temptation to put his pecuniary 
interests above the interests of those for whom he acts. 
According to the aristocratic idea, the representative 
thinks for his constituents; according to the Demo- 
cratic idea, the representative thinks with his constitu- 
ents. A representative has no right to defeat the 
wishes of those who elect him, if he knows their 
wishes. 

But a representative is not liable to knowingly mis- 
represent his constituents unless he has pecuniary in- 
terests adverse to theirs. This is the temptation to be 
resisted — this is the sin to be avoided. The official 
who uses his position to secure a pecuniary advantage 
over the public is an embezzler of power — and an em- 
bezzler of power IS as guilty of moral turpitude as the 
embezzler of money. There is no better motto for 
the public official than that given by Solomon: ''A 
good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, 
and loving favour rather than silver and gold." 
There is no better rule for the public official to follow 
than this — to do nothing that he would not be willing 
to have printed in the newspaper next day. 

One who exercises authority conferred upon him 
by the suffrages of his fellows ought to be fortified 
in his integrity by the consciousness of the fact that a 
betrayal of his trust is hurtful to the party which 
honours him and unjust to the people whom he serv^es, 
as well as injurious to himself. Nothing that he can 



THE VALUE OP THE SOUL 191 

gain, not even the whole world, can compensate him 
for the loss that he suffers in the surrender of a high 
ideal of public duty. 

In conclusion, let me say that the nation, as well as 
the individual, and the party, must be measured by its 
purpose, its ideals and its service. " Let him who 
would be chief est among you, be the servant of all," 
was intended for nations as well as for citizens. Our 
nation is the greatest in the world and the greatest of 
all time, because it is rendering a larger service than 
any other nation is rendering or has rendered. It is 
giving the world ideals in education, in social life, in 
government, and in religion. It is the teacher of na- 
tions ; it is the world's torch-bearer. Here the people 
are more free than elsewhere to " try all things and 
hold fast that which is good " ; " to know the truth " 
and to find freedom in that knowledge. No material 
considerations should blind us to our nation's mission, 
or turn us aside from the accomplishment of the great 
work which has been reserved for us. Our fields bring 
forth abundantly and the products of our farms 
furnish food for many in the Old World. Our mills 
and looms supply an increasing export, but these are 
not our greatest asset. Our most fertile soil is to be 
found in the minds and the hearts of our people; our 
most important manufacturing plants are not our 
factories, with their smoking chimneys, but our 
schools, our colleges and our churches, which take in 
a priceless raw material and turn out the most valu- 
able finished product that the world has known. 

We enjoy by inheritance, or by choice, the blessings 



192 THE VALUE OP THE SOUL 

of American citizenship; let us not be unmindful of 
the obligations which these blessings impose. Let us 
not become so occupied in the struggle for wealth or 
in the contest for honours as to repudiate the debt 
that we owe to those who have gone before us and to 
those who bear with us the responsibilities that rest 
upon the present generation. Society has claims upon 
us; our country makes demands upon our time, our 
thought and our purpose. We cannot shirk these du- 
ties without disgrace to ourselves and injury to those 
who come after us. If one is tempted to complain of 
the burdens borne by American citizens, let him com- 
pare them with the much larger burdens imposed by 
despots upon their subjects. 

I challenge the doctrine, now being taught, that we 
must enter into a mad rivalry with the Old World in 
the building of battleships — the doctrine that the only 
way to preserve peace is to get ready for wars that 
ought never to come! It is a barbarous, brutal, im- 
Christian doctrine — the doctrine of the darkness, not 
the doctrine of the dawn. 

Nation after nation, when at the zenith of its power, 
has proclaimed itself invincible because its army 
could shake the earth with its tread and its ships could 
fill the seas, but these nations are dead, and we must 
build upon a different foundation if we would avoid 
their fate. 

Carlyle, in the closing chapters of his " French Revo- 
lution," says that thought is stronger than artillery 
parks and at last moulds the world like soft clay, and 
then he adds that back of thought is love. Carlyle is 



THE VALUE OF THE SOUL 193 

right. Love is the greatest power in the world. The 
nations that are dead boasted that people bowed be- 
fore their flag; let us not be content until our flag 
represents sentiments so high and holy that the op- 
pressed of every land will turn their faces toward that 
flag and thank God that it stands for self-government 
and for the rights of man. 

The enlightened conscience of our nation should 
proclaim as the country's creed that " righteousness 
exalteth a nation " and that justice is a nation's surest 
defense. If there ever was a nation it is ours — if 
there ever was a time it is now — ^to put God's truth to 
a test. With an ocean rolling on either side and a 
mountain range along either coast that all the armies 
of the world could never climb we ought not to be 
afraid to trust in " the wisdom of doing right/' 

Our government, conceived in liberty and purchased 
with blood, can be preserved only by constant vigi- 
lance. May we guard it as our children's richest 
legacy, for what shall it profit our nation if it shall 
gain the whole world and lose " the spirit that prizes 
liberty as the heritage of all men in all lands every- 
where '' ? 



VII 
THREE PRICELESS GIFTS 

THE Bible differs from all other books in that 
it never wears out. Other books are read 
and laid aside, but the Bible is a constant 
companion. No matter how often we read it or how 
familiar we become with it, some new truth is likely 
to spring out at us from its pages whenever we open it, 
or some old truth will impress us as it never did before. 
Every Christian can give illustrations of this. Permit 
me to refer briefly to four. My first religious address, 
" The Prince of Peace," was the outgrowth of a chance 
rereading of a passage in Isaiah. This I have re- 
ferred to in my lecture entitled " His Government and 
Peace." 

The argument presented in my lecture on the 
Bible, in which I defend the inspiration of the 
Book of Books, was the outgrowth of a chance re- 
reading of Elijah^s prayer test. I was preparing an 
address for the celebration of the Tercentenary of the 
King James' Translation when, on the train, I turned 
by chance to Elijah's challenge to the prophets of Baal. 
It suggested to me what I regard as an unanswerable 
argument, namely, a challenge to those who reject the 
Bible to put their theory to the test and produce a book, 

194 



THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 195 

the equal of the Bible, or admit one of two alternatives, 
either that the Bible comes from a source higher than 
man or that man has so degenerated that less can be 
expected of him now than nineteen hundred years ago. 

In preparing a Sunday-school lesson on Abraham's 
faith I was so impressed with the influence of faith on 
the life of the patriarch and, through him, on the 
world, that I prepared a college address on '' Faith,'* a 
part of which I have reproduced in my lecture on 
" The Spoken Word." 

It was a chance rereading of an extract from the 
account of the Ten Lepers which led me to prepare 
the lecture reproduced in this chapter. The subject 
to which I invite your attention is as important to- 
day as it was when the Master laid emphasis upon 
it. As He approached a certain village ten lepers met 
Him; they recognized Him and cried out, "Jesus, 
Master, have mercy upon us." He healed them ; when 
they found that they had been made whole, one of 
them turned back and, falling on his face at Jesus' feet, 
poured forth his heart in grateful thanks. Christ, no- 
ticing the absence of the others, inquired, " Were there 
not ten cleansed, but where are the nine? " This sim- 
ple question has come echoing down through nineteen 
centuries, the most stinging rebuke ever uttered against 
the sin of ingratitude. If the lepers had been afflicted 
with a disease easily cured, they might have said, 
"Any one could have healed us/' but only Christ could 
restore them to health, and yet, when they had received 
of His cleansing power, they apparently felt no sense 
of obligation ; at least, they expressed no gratitude. 



196 THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 

Some one has described ingratitude as a meaner sin 
than revenge — the explanation being that revenge is 
repayment of evil with evil, while ingratitude is repay- 
ment of good with evil. If you visit revenge upon 
one, it is because he has injured you first and the law 
takes notice of provocation. Ingratitude is lack of 
appreciation of a favour shown; it is indifference to a 
kindness done. 

Ingratitude is so common a sin that few have occu- 
pied the pulpit for a year without using the story of 
the Ten Lepers as the basis of a sermon; and one 
could speak upon this theme every Sunday in the year 
without being compelled to repeat himself, so infinite 
in number are the illustrations. Those who speak of 
ingratitude usually begin with the child. A child is 
bom into the world the most helpless of all creatures ; 
for years it could not live but for the affectionate and 
devoted care of parents, or of those who stand in the 
place of parents. If, when it grows up, it becomes in- 
different; if its heart grows cold, and it becomes un- 
grateful, it arouses universal indignation. Poets and 
writers of prose have exhausted all the epithets in their 
effort to describe an ungrateful child. Shakespeare's 
words are probably those most quoted: 

" How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is 
To have a thankless child." 

But it is not my purpose to speak of thankless chil- 
dren ; I shall rather make application of the rebuke to 
the line of work in which I have been engaged. For 
some thirty years my time, by fate or fortune, has been 



THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 197 

devoted largely to the study and discussion of the prob- 
lems of government, and I have had occasion to note 
the apathy and indifference of citizens. I have seen 
reforms delayed and the suffering of the people pro- 
longed by lack of vigilance. Let us, therefore, con- 
sider together for a little while some of the priceless 
gifts that come to us because we live under the Stars 
and Stripes — ^gifts so valuable that they cannot be esti- 
mated in figures or described in language — gifts which 
are received and enjoyed by many without any sense of 
obligation, and without any resolve to repay the debt 
due to society. 

These gifts are many, but we shall have time for 
only three. The first is education; it is a gift rather 
than an acquirement. It comes into our lives when we 
are too young to decide such questions for ourselves. 
I sometimes meet a man who calls himself " self- 
made," and I always want to cross-examine him. I 
would ask him when he began to make himself, and 
how he laid the foundations of his greatness. As a 
matter of fact, we inherit more than we ourselves can 
add. It means more to be born of a race with cen- 
turies of civilization back of it than anything that we 
ourselves can contribute. And, next to that which we 
inherit, comes that which enters our lives through the 
environment of youth. In this country the child is so 
surrounded by opportunities, that it enters school as 
early as the law will permit. It does not go to school, 
it is sent to school, and we are so anxious that it 
shall lose no time that, if there is ever a period in the 
child's life when the mother is uncertain as to its exact 



198 THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 

age, this IS the time. I heard of a little boy, who, when 
asked how old he was, replied, " I am five on the train, 
seven in school and six at home." The child is pushed 
through grade after grade, and, according to the statis- 
tics, a little more than ninety per cent, of the children 
drop out of school before they are old enough to decide 
educational questions for themselves. They are 
scarcely more than fourteen. 

Taking the country over, a little less than one in ten 
of the children who enter our graded school ever enter 
high school, and not quite one in fifty enter college 
or university. As many who enter college do not com- 
plete the course, I am not far from the truth when I 
say that only about one young man in one hundred 
continues his education until he reaches the age — 
twenty-one — ^when the lav/ assumes that his reason is 
mature. I am emphasizing these statistics in order to 
show that we are indebted to others more than to our- 
selves for our education. That which we do would 
not be done but for what others have already done. 
Even those who secure an education in spite of diffi- 
culties have received from some one the idea that 
makes them appreciate the value of an education. 

When we are bom we find an educational system 
here ; we do not devise it, it was established by a gen- 
eration long since dead. When we are ready to attend 
school we find a schoolhouse already built ; we do not 
build it, it was erected by the taxpayers, many of whom 
are dead. When we are ready for instruction we find 
teachers prepared by others, many of whom have 
passed to their reward. 



THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 199 

How do we feel when we complete our education? 
Do we count the cost to others and think of the sacri- 
fices they have made for our benefit ? Do we estimate 
the strength that education has brought to us and feel 
that we should put that strength under heavier loads ? 
We are raised by our study to an intellectual eminence 
from which we can secure a clearer view of the future; 
do we feel that we should be like watchmen upon the 
tower and warn those less fortunate of the dangers 
that they do not yet discern ? We should, but do we ? 
I venture to assert that more than nine out of ten of 
those who receive into their lives, and profit by, the 
gift of education are as ungrateful as the nine lepers 
of whom the Bible tells us — they receive, they enjoy, 
but they give no thanks. 

But it is even worse than this ; the Bible does not say 
that any one of the nine lepers used for the injury of 
his fellows the strength that Christ gave back to him. 
All that is said is that they were ungrateful ; but how 
about those who go out from our colleges and univer- 
sities ? Are not many of these worse than ungrateful ? 
I would not venture to use my own language here; I 
will quote what others have said. 

Wendell Phillips was one of the learned men of Mas- 
sachusetts and a great orator. In his address on the 
" Scholar in a Republic," he said that " The people 
make history while the scholars only write it." And 
then he added, "part truly and part as coloured by 
their prejudices." 

Woodrow Wilson, while president of Princeton 
University, said : 



200 THREE PEICBLESS GIFTS 

"The great voice of America does not come from 
seats of learning. It comes in a murmur from the hills 
and woods, and the farms and factories and the mills, 
rolling on and gaining volume imtil it comes to us from 
the homes of common men. Do these murmurs echo in 
the corridors of our univertisies ? I have not heard 
them." 

President Roosevelt, while in the White House, pre- 
sented an even stronger indictment against some of the 
scholars. In a speech delivered to law students at 
Harvard he declared that there was scarcely a great 
conspiracy against the public welfare that did not have 
Harvard brains behind it. He need not have gone to 
Harvard to utter this terrific indictment against college 
graduates; he might have gone to Yale, or Columbia, 
or Princeton, or to any other great university, or even 
to smaller colleges. It would not take long to correct 
the abuses of which the people complain but for the 
fact that back of every abuse are the hired brains of 
scholars who turn against society and use for society's 
harm the very strength that society has bestowed upon 
them. 

Let me give you an illustration in point, and so re- 
cent that one will be sufficient: A few months ago the 
Supreme Court at Washington handed down a decision 
overturning every argument made against the Eight- 
eenth Amendment and the enforcement law. Who 
represented the liquor traffic in that august tribunal? 
Not brewery workers, employees in distilleries, or 
bartenders ; these could not speak for the liquor traffic 
in the Supreme Court. No! Lawyers must be em- 
ployed, and they were easily found — big lawyers, 



THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 201 

scholars, who attempted to overthrow the bulwark that 
society has erected for the protection of the homes of 
the country. 

Every reform has to be fought through the legisla- 
tures and the courts until it is finally settled by the 
highest court in our land, and there, vanquished wrong 
expires in the arms of learned lawyers who sell their 
souls to do evil — who attempt to rend society with the 
very power that our institutions of learning have con- 
ferred upon them. All of our reforms would be led 
by scholars, if all scholars appreciated as they should 
the gift of education. There are, of course, a multi- 
tude of noble illustrations of scholars consecrating 
their learning to the service of the people, but many 
scholars are indifferent to the injustice done to the 
masses and some actually obstruct needed reforms — 
and they do it for pay. 

My second illustration is even more important, for 
it deals with the heart. I am interested in education ; 
if I had my way every child in all the world would be 
educated. God forbid that I should draw a line 
through society and say that the children on one side 
shall be educated and the children on the other side 
condemned to the night of ignorance. I shall assume 
no such responsibility. I am anxious that my children 
and grandchildren shall be educated, and I do not de- 
sire for a child or grandchild of mine anything that I 
would not like to see every other child enjoy. Chil- 
dren come into the world without their own volition — 
they are here as a part of the Almighty's plan — and 
there is not a child born on God's footstool that has not 



202 THEEB PEICELESS GIFTS 

as much right to all that life can give as your child or 
my child. Education increases one's capacity for 
service and thus enlarges the reward that one can 
rightfully draw from society; therefore, every one is 
entitled to the advantages of education. 

There is no reason why every human being should 
not have both a good heart and a trained mind; but, if 
I were compelled to choose between the two, I would 
rather that one should have a good heart than a trained 
mind. A good heart can make a dull brain useful to 
society, but a bad heart cannot make a good use of any 
brain, however trained or brilliant. 

When we deal with the heart we must deal with re- 
ligion, for religion controls the heart; and, when we 
consider religion we find that the religious environ- 
ment that surrounds our young people is as favourable 
as their intellectual environment. As in the case of 
education, lack of appreciation may be due in part to 
lack of opportunity to make comparison. If we visit 
Asia, where the philosophy of Confucius controls, or 
where they worship Buddha, or follow Mahomet, or 
observe the forms of the Hindu religion, we find that 
except where they have borrowed from Christian na- 
tions, they have made no progress in fifteen hundred 
years. Here, all have the advantage of Christian 
ideals, and yet, according to statistics, something more 
than half the adult males of the United States are not 
connected with any religious organization. Some 
scof¥ at religion, and a few are outspoken enemies of 
the Church. Can they be blind to the benefits con- 
ferred by our churches? Security of life and property 



THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 203 

is not entirely due to criminal laws, to a sheriff in each 
county, and to an occasional policeman. The con- 
science comes first; the law comes afterward. 

Law is but the crystallization of conscience; moral 
sentiment must be created before it can express itself 
in the form of a statute. Every preacher and priest, 
therefore, whether his congregation be large or small, 
who quickens the conscience of those who hear him 
helps the community. Every church of every denomi- 
nation, whether important or unimportant, that helps 
to raise the moral standards of the land benefits all 
who live under the flag, whether they acknowledge 
their obligations or not. 

But lack of appreciation on the part of those outside 
the Church would not disturb us so much if all the 
church members lived up to their obligations. How 
much is it worth to one to be born again? Of what 
value is it to have had the heart touched by the Saviour 
and so changed that it loves the things it used to hate 
and hates the things it formerly loved? Of what value 
is it to have one's life so transformed that, instead of 
resembling a stagnant pool, it becomes like a living 
spring, giving forth constantly that which refreshes 
and invigorates? What is it worth to the Christian, 
and what is it worth to those about him, to have his 
life brought by Christ into such vital living contact with 
the Heavenly Father, that that life becomes the means 
through which the goodness of God pours out to the 
world? 

But, I go a step farther and ask whether the Church 
as an organization — ^not any one denomination, but the 



204 THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 

Church universal — appreciates its great opportunities, 
its tremendous responsibility, and the infinite power 
behind it. If the Church is what we believe it to be 
it must be prepared to grapple with every problem, in- 
dividual and social, whether it affects only a community 
or involves a state, a nation, or a world. There must 
be some intelligence large enough to direct the world 
or the world will run amuck. We believe that God is 
the only intelligence capable of governing the world, 
and God must act through the Church or outside of it. 
If the Church is not big enough to act as the mouth- 
piece of the Almighty — not in the sense that the 
Church ought to exercise governmental authority, but 
its members, seeking light from the Heavenly Father 
through prayer, should be able to act wisely as citizens 
—if, I repeat, the Church is not big enough to deal 
with the problems that confront the world, then the 
Church must give way to some more competent or- 
ganization. Christians have no other alternative ; they 
must believe that the teachings of Christ can he suc- 
cessfully applied to every problem that the individual 
has to meet and to every problem with which govern- 
ments have to deal. I have in another lecture in this 
series called attention to Christ's all-inclusive claim set 
forth in the closing verses of the last chapter of Mat- 
thew, but I must repeat it here because it is the basis of 
what I desire to say on this branch of the subject. 
Christ declared that all power had been given into His 
hands ; He sent His followers out to make disciples of 
all nations ; and He promised to be with them alzvays, 
even unto the end of the world. If the Church takes 



THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 205 

Christ at His word and claims to be His representative 
on earth it cannot shirk its duty. 

If Christians are as grateful to God, to Christ, and 
to the Bible as they should be, they will give attention 
to every problem that affects the individual, the com- 
munity, and the larger units of society and govern- 
ment. They will consider it their duty to carry their 
religion into business and politics and to apply the 
teachings of Christ to every subject that affects human 
welfare. In another lecture I call attention to the 
Church's duty to reconcile capital and labour, and to 
teach God's law of rewards. 

The third gift to which I would call your attention 
is the form of government under which we live. Ours 
is a government in which the people rule from the low- 
est unit to the highest office in the nation. Nearly all 
of our officials are elected by popular vote, and those 
appointed are appointed by officers who are elected. 
The tendency is everywhere more and more toward 
popular government. Some people are afraid of 
Democracy but a larger number of people believe that 
" more democracy is the cure for such evils as have 
been developed under popular government." The 
Christian is a citizen of the republic as well as a mem- 
ber of the church and must practice his religion. I 
have not time to speak of our government in detail ; it 
is rather my purpose at this time to call attention to the 
gift of popular government as we find it In the nation. 

Let us begin, then, with a presidential election. I 
shall not yield to the strong temptation to describe a 
presidential election ; suffice to say that our campaigns 



206 THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 

begin with the election of delegates to a National Con- 
vention (I hope they will some day begin with the 
nomination of presidential candidates at primaries held 
by all the parties, in all the states, on the same day). 
The campaigns last long enough to make the candi- 
dates so weary that they gladly resign themselves to 
any result if they can only live to election day. 

The campaigns increase in intensity week after week 
and expire, or explode, in a blaze of glory the night 
before election, at which time the committees of the 
leading parties set forth the reasons that make each 
side certain of success. On election day a hush spreads 
over the land and the voters wend their way to the 
polling places, where each voter is permitted to register 
a sovereign's will. Usually by midnight the wires 
flash out the name of one who is to be added to the list 
of Presidents. We give him a few weeks to rest and 
get ready and then, on a certain day in March and at 
a certain hour, he goes to the White House door and 
knocks. The occupant opens the door, and with a 
wearied look upon his face, and yet a smile, says, " I 
was expecting you just at this moment.'' Then the 
man on the inside of the White House goes out and 
becomes a private citizen again, while the man on the 
outside goes in, takes the oath of office and is clothed 
with authority such as no other human being, but a 
President, ever exercised. 

He writes an order and ships go out to sea with their 
big-mouthed guns; he writes another order and the 
ships return. At his command armies assemble and 
march and fight, and men die ; at his word armies dis- 



THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 207 

solve and soldiers become citizens again. This goes 
on for just so many years and months and weeks and 
days — for just so many hours and minutes and sec- 
onds, and then there is another knock on the White 
House door and another man comes with a new com- 
mission from the people. 

Is it not a great thing to live in a land like this where 
the people can, at the polls, select one of their number 
and lift him to this pinnacle of power? And is it not 
greater still that the people are able to reduce a Presi- 
dent to the ranks as well as to lift him up? When 
they elevate him he is just common clay, but when they 
take him down from his high place they separate him 
from those instrumentalities of government which des- 
pots have employed for the enslavement of their 
people. 

And why is it that we live under a government rest- 
ing upon the consent of the governed, and in a land in 
which the people rule? Because throughout the cen- 
turies millions of the best and the bravest have given 
their lives that we might be free. Every right of 
which we boast is a blood-bought right, and bought by 
the blood of others, not our own. Would you not 
think that people who inherit such a government as 
this would be grateful for the priceless gift and live up 
to every obligation of citizenship ? It would seem so, 
and yet those acquainted with politics know that the 
difficult task is to get the vote out. Even in a hotly 
contested presidential election we never get the full 
vote out. If ninety per cent, of the vote is polled we 
are happy; if eighty-five per cent, is polled we arc sat- 



208 THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 

isfied. If it is an intermediate election the vote may 
be less than eighty per cent., or even seventy-five. In 
a primary, which is often more important than an elec- 
tion, the vote sometimes falls below fifty, or even forty 
per cent. 

And what excuses do men give? Often the most 
trivial. One man says that he had some work to do 
and could not spare the time — as if any work could be 
more important than voting in a Republic. Another 
was visiting his wife's relatives and a family dinner 
made it inconvenient for him to return in time to vote. 
A few years ago I met a man on the train who told me 
that he had not voted for ten years. When I asked 
him why, he explained that he had voted for a neigh- 
bour for a state office — ^he declared that the neighbour 
could not have been elected without his help — and yet 
when the election was over the successful candidate 
failed to invite him to a dinner given to celebrate the 
victory. "And," he added, " I just made up my mind 
that if I could be so deceived by a man who lived next 
door to me I did not have sense enough to vote, and I 
have not voted since." 

We are all liable to make mistakes, but a mistake at 
one election is no justification for failure to vote at 
other elections. We must do the best we can ; and we 
must not be discouraged if the men elected do not do 
all that we expect of them. The government is not 
perfect and never will be, no matter what party is in 
power. When the Democrats are in power I can prove 
by all the Republicans that the government is not per- 
fect ; when the Republicans are in power I can prove by 



THBEE PEIOELESS GIFTS 209 

the Democrats that the government is not perfect. 
Governments are administered by human beings ; we 
must expect honest men to make mistakes and we must 
not be surprised if, occasionally, an official embezzles 
power and turns to his own advantage the authority 
entrusted to him to use for the public good. We 
should punish him and try to safeguard the people. 
The initiative and referendum are valuable because 
they enable the people to protect themselves from mis- 
representation. 

But even if the government could be made perfect 
to-day it would be imperfect to-morrow. Times 
change and new conditions arise that make new laws 
necessary. As the remedy cannot precede the disease 
and cannot be applied until the public becomes ac- 
quainted with the disease and has time to choose the 
remedy, there is always something that needs to be 
done. If Christians do not make it their business to 
understand their government's needs and to propose 
laws that are necessary, others will. Are any more 
worthy to be trusted than Christians? 

Even constitutions must be changed in order that 
our government may be in the hands of the living 
rather than in the hands of the dead. Those who 
wrote our Constitution were very wise men and yet the 
wisest thing they did was to include a provision which 
enabled those who came after them to change an)^ing 
that they wrote into the Constitution. 

Jefferson thought a constitution should be brought 
up to date by every generation. Nineteen changes 
have been made in our Constitution by amendment 



210 THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 

since the Constitution was adopted and four of these 
have been adopted within the last ten years. I venture 
to call attention to the later ones for two purposes; 
first, to show how long it takes to amend the Constitu- 
tion and why; second, to remind you that these four 
great amendments have been adopted by joint action 
by the two great parties. 

It required twenty-one years to secure the amend- 
ment providing for popular election of United States 
Senators after the amendment was first endorsed by 
the House of Representatives at Washington. For 
one hundred and three years after the adoption of the 
Federal Constitution the people tolerated the election 
of Senators by legislatures before there was a protest 
that rose to the dignity of a Congressional resolution. 
A Republican President, Andrew Johnson, recom- 
mended the change in a message to Congress. Some 
ten years later, General Weaver, a Populist Represent- 
ative in Congress from Iowa, introduced a resolution 
proposing an amendment providing for the popular 
election of Senators, but no action was taken at that 
time. In 1902 a Democratic House of Representa- 
tives at Washington passed a resolution, by the neces- 
sary two-thirds vote, submitting the proposed amend- 
ment. Hon. Harry St. George Tucker, of Virginia, 
was the chairman of the committee when this resolu- 
tion passed the House. A similar resolution passed 
the House on five separate occasions afterward (twice 
when the House was Democratic and three times when 
it was Republican) before it could pass the Senate. 
The amendment was finally submitted by joint action 



THEEE PEICBLESS GIFTS 211 

of a Democratic House and a Republican Senate and 
was ratified in a short time, Democratic and Republi- 
can states vying with each other in furnishing the nec- 
essary number. In 1913 it became my privilege, as 
Secretary of State, to sign the last document necessary 
to make this amendment a part of the Constitution. I 
have dwelt upon this contest at some length in order 
to call attention to the time it took to secure the change 
and to the fact that the two parties share the honour of 
making the change. 

It took seventeen years to secure the amendment to 
the Constitution authorizing an income tax. The In- 
come Tax Law, enacted in 1894, was declared uncon- 
stitutional by the United States Supreme Court, by a 
majority of one, in 1895. In 1896 the fight for a con- 
stitutional amendment was inaugurated and the 
amendment was ratified and became a part of the 
Constitution early in 1913. This amendment, like the 
amendment providing for popular election of United 
States Senators, required many years, and for the 
same reason, viz., that the people were not alert as 
they should have been, not as vigilant as they should 
be. In the case of the Income Tax Amendment also, 
as in the case of the other, the two parties contributed 
to the change in the Constitution and share the glory 
together. The first amendment brought the United 
States Senate nearer the people and opened the way 
for other reforms ; the second made it possible to ap- 
portion more equitably the burdens of the govern- 
ment. 

The Income Tax Amendment was adopted just in 



212 THEEB PEICELESS GIFTS 

time to enable the government to collect the revenue 
needed for the recent war. During the seventeen years 
covered by the struggle for this amendment the gov- 
ernment was impotent to tax wealth ; it could draft the 
man but not the pocketbook. What would have been 
the feeling among the people if we had entered the late 
war under such a handicap ? How would conscription 
have been received if it applied to father, husband and 
son and not to wealth also ? 

And then, too, the Income Tax Amendment came 
just in time to answer the last argument made in fa- 
vour of the saloon. Those engaged in the liquor traf- 
fic, after being defeated on all other points, massed be- 
hind the proposition that the government needed the 
revenue from whiskey, beer, and saloons. As soon as 
the government was able to collect an income tax the 
friends of prohibition were able to look the liquor 
dealers in the face and say, " Never again will an 
American boy be auctioned off to a saloon for money 
to run the government; we now have other sources 
from which to draw." 

The third of the amendments was also a long time 
in coming and was finally brought by joint action of 
Democrats and Republicans. It is not necessary to 
trace the growth of this reform. Suffice it to say that 
the Christian churches were the dominating force be- 
hind the prohibition movement and that the South 
played a very prominent part in driving out the saloon. 
More than two-thirds of the Senators and members 
from the Southern States voted for the submission of 
National Prohibition after nearly all the Southern 



THEEE PEIOELBSS GIFTS 213 

States had adopted prohibition by individual act. The 
first four states to ratify were Southern Democratic 
States — Mississippi, Virginia, Kentucky, and South 
Carolina. It is only fair, however, to say that the 
West contested with the South the honour of leading 
in this fight, and that the Northern States finally did 
nearly as well as the Southern States in the matter of 
ratifying. And it is better that the victory should be 
a joint one, expressing the conscience of the nation re- 
gardless of party, than that it should be merely a party 
victory. 

But the real credit for leadership belongs not to any 
party or to any section, but to those whose consciences 
were quickened by the teachings of the Bible. Total 
abstinence was naturally more prevalent among church 
members than among those outside of the church, and 
this, of course, was the foundation upon which pro- 
hibition rested. The arguments against the use of 
liquor are the basis of the arguments in favour of pro- 
hibition. Because liquor is harmful the saloon is in- 
tolerable. 

I venture to set forth the fundamental propositions 
upon which the arguments for prohibition rested. 

First: God never made a human being who, in a nor- 
mal state, needed alcohol. 

Second: God never made a human being strong 
enough to begin the use of alcohol and be sure 
that he would not become its victim. 

Third: God never fixed a day in a human life after 
which it is safe to begin the use of intoxicating 
liquors. 



214 THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 

These three propositions can be stated without limi- 
tation or mental reservation. They apply to all who 
now live and to all who ever lived; and will apply to 
all who may live hereafter. To these may be added 
three propositions which apply especially to Christians. 

First: The Christian is a Christian because he has 
given himself in pledge of service to God and to Christ. 
What moral right has he to take into his body that 
which he knows will lessen his capacity for service and 
may destroy even his desire to serve? 

Second: What moral right has a Christian to spend 
for intoxicating liquor money needed for the many 
noble and needy causes that appeal to a Christian's 
heart? The Christian, repeating the language taught 
him by the Master, prays to the Heavenly Father, 
" Thy kingdom come ; " what right has he to rise from 
his knees and spend for intoxicating liquor money that 
he can spare to hasten the coming of God's kingdom on 
earth? 

Third: What right has a Christian to throw the in- 
fluence of his example on the side of a habit that has 
brought millions to the grave ? We shall have enough 
to answer for when we stand before the judgment bar 
of God without having a ruined soul arise and testify 
that it was a Christian's example that led him to his 
ruin. Paul declared that if meat made his brother to 
offend he would eat no meat. What Christian can af- 
ford to say less in regard to intoxicants? If the 
Christian drinks only a little it is a small sacrifice to 
make for the aid of his brother; if the Christian drinks 
enough to make stopping a real sacrifice he ought to 



THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 216 

Stop for his own sake, on his family's account and out 
of respect for his church. 

While the harmf ulness of liquor was the foundation 
upon which the opposition to the saloon was built, it 
may be worth while to add that popular government, 
by putting responsibility upon the voters, compelled 
the Christian to vote against the saloon licenses. In 
all civilized countries the sale of liquor is now so re- 
stricted that it cannot be lawfully offered for sale with- 
out a license. As the license is necessary to the exist- 
ence of the saloon — as necessary as the liquor sold over 
the bar — the Christian who voted for a license became 
as much a partner in the business as the man who dis- 
pensed it, and he had even less excuse. The manufac- 
turer and the bartender could plead in extenuation that 
they made money out of the business and money has 
led multitudes into sin. For money many have been 
willing to steal ; for money some have been willing to 
murder; for money a few have been willing to sell 
their country; for money one man was willing to be- 
tray the Saviour. The Christian who voted for li- 
censes had not even the poor excuse of those who 
engaged in the business for mercenary reasons. As 
the consciences became awakened, therefore. Chris- 
tians, in increasing numbers, refused to share responsi- 
bility for the saloon and what it did. 

Science contributed largely to the final victory. 
People used to say that drinking did not hurt if one 
did not drink too much. But no one could define how 
much " too much '* was. The invisible line between 
** just enough '' and " too much " is like the line of the 



216 THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 

horizon — it recedes as you approach until it is lost in 
the darkness of the night. 

Science proved that it is not immoderate drinking 
only, but any drinking that is harmful, and, therefore, 
that the real line is that between not drinking and 
drinking. 

Science has also demonstrated, as I have shown in 
another lecture, that drinking decreases one's expect- 
ancy, according to insurance tables; a young man at 
twenty-one must deliberately decide to shorten his life 
by more than ten per cent, if he becomes an habitual 
drinker. 

But, what is worse, science has shown that alcohol is 
a poison that runs in the blood, so that the drinking of 
the father or mother may curse a child unborn and 
close the door of hope upon it before its eyes have 
opened to the light of day. 

Business aided us also, as large corporations increas- 
ingly discriminated against those who drank. 

Patriotism furnished the last impulse ; war threw a 
ghastly light upon the evils of intemperance and upon 
the sordid greed of those engaged in the liquor busi- 
ness. 

The reform will not turn back. Enforcement will 
become more strict in this country as its benefits are 
more clearly shown and prohibition will spread until 
the saloon will be abolished throughout the world. Al- 
though now past sixty-one I expect to live to see the 
day when there will not be an open saloon under the 
flag of any civilized nation. 

We are now able to prevent typhoid fever, the indi- 



THREE PEICELESS GIFTS 217 

vidual being made immune by a treatment adminis- 
tered before he has been exposed to the disease. Total 
abstinence resembles this preventative; no total ab- 
stainer is in danger of alcoholism. 

But we also have a preventive for yellow fever, 
namely, the destroying of the breeding place of the 
mosquito which carries the germ of the disease. Pro- 
hibition resembles this preventive. The saloon was 
found to be the breeding place of alcoholism and pro- 
hibition strikes at the source of the danger. These 
two, total abstinence and prohibition, will eliminate the 
drink evil as typhoid and yellow fever have been 
eliminated. 

The fourth amendment adopted in recent years ex- 
tended equal suffrage to women. Like the three to 
which I have referred, it was a long time coming and 
came at last by joint action of the two great parties. 
A majority of both parties in both Senate and House 
voted for the submission of this amendment and it 
required both Democratic and Republican states to 
ratify it. The opposition which the amendment met 
in the South was not due to lack of confidence in 
women, for nowhere in the world is woman more 
highly estimated or more fully trusted. Such local 
opposition as there was was due to the race question. 
Now that woman can express herself at the polls, her 
influence will be felt as much in the South as in other 
sections ; it will throughout the United States seal the 
doom of the liquor traffic. The women will stand 
guard at the grave of John Barleycorn and make sure 
that he will never know a resurrection morn. 



218 THEEE PEICELESS GIFTS 

Drawing their inspiration from the Bible, even to a 
greater extent than the men do, the women will hasten 
the triumph of every righteous cause. They wiU 
throw their influence on the side of every moral re- 
form. The adoption of the single standard of morals 
will be made possible by woman's advent into politics. 
Her ballot will make it easier to lift man to her level 
in the matter of chastity and to distribute more equi- 
tably than man has done, the punishments imposed for 
acts of immorality. 

Woman has come into power in politics at a time 
when she can aid in the promotion of world peace by 
compelling the establishment of machinery which will 
substitute reason for force in the settlement of inter- 
national disputes. Her first great triumph at the polls 
may be the fulfilling of the prophecy, spoken more than 
two thousand years ago, that swords shall be beaten 
into ploughshares and that nations shall learn war no 
more. She will be repaid for all her patience and her 
waiting If now, by her ballot, she can make it unneces- 
sary for another mother's son to be offered upon the 
altar of Mars. That this nation is in a better position 
than ever before to lead the world in every good cause 
is due to the gifts that have come with American citi- 
zenship, only three of which I have had time to men- 
tion. 

Every citizen should be honest with himself, exam- 
ine his own heart and answer to his own conscience. 
What estimate does he place upon the education which 
he has received? What value does he put upon the 
religion that controls his heart? How highly does he 



THEEE PEIOELBSS GIFTS 219 

prize the form of government tmder which he lives? 
Let him put his own appraisement upon these three 
great gifts; these sums added together will represent 
his acknowledged indebtedness to society; then let him 
resolve to pay so much of this incalculable debt as is 
within his power. 

We live in a goodly land. No king can shape our 
nation's destiny; not even a President can have the 
final word as to what our nation is to be. Each citi- 
zen, no matter how humble that citizen may be, can 
have a part. Let us do our part; joining together, let 
us solve the problems with which we have to deal, and, 
by so doing, bless our country and, through it, other 
lands. Let us join together and raise the light of our 
civilization so high that its rays, illumining every land, 
may lead the world to those better things for which the 
world is praying. 



VIII 
"HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE" 

BY way of introduction, allow me to say that I 
fully recognize the difference between a />r^- 
sentation of fundamental principles and an 
application of those principles to life. While an appli- 
cation of principles arouses greater interest it is more 
apt to bring out differences of opinion and to excite 
controversy. But the Christian is always open-minded 
because he desires to know the right and to do it. He 
" prove (s) all things and hold(s) fast that which is 
good." Therefore, he welcomes light on every subject, 
from every source. It is in this spirit that I speak 
to you and it is this spirit that I invoke. I speak from 
conviction, formed after prayerful investigation, and 
am as anxious to be informed as I am to inform. 

Some twenty years ago I turned back to the sixth 
verse of the ninth chapter of Isaiah to refresh my 
memory on the titles bestowed on the Messiah whose 
coming the prophet foretold. After reading verse six, 
my eyes fell on verse seven and it impressed me as it 
had not on former readings. This was probably be- 
cause I had recently been giving attention to govern- 
mental problems and had occasionally heard advanced 
a very gloomy philosophy, namely, that a government, 
being the work of man, must, like man, pass through 

220 



*^HIS GOVBENMENT AND PEACE" 221 

certain clianges that mark a human life — that is, be 
born, grow strong, and then, after a period of matu- 
rity, decline and die. It is a repulsive doctrine and 
my heart rebelled against it. It offends one's patriot- 
ism, too, to be compelled to admit that, in spite of all 
that can be done, our government must some day per- 
ish. In verse seven we read of a government that will 
not die: 

" Of the increase of his government and peace there 
shall be no end, ... to establish it with judg- 
ment and with justice from henceforth even forever/' 

The fault in the philosophy to which I have referred 
lies in the fact that while government is each day in 
control of those then living, it really belongs to gen- 
erations rather than to individuals. As one genera- 
tion passes off the stage another comes on; therefore, 
there is no reason why this government should ever 
be weaker or worse than it is now unless our people 
decline in virtue, intelligence and patriotism. It should 
grow better as the people improve. 

In the verse quoted we find that the enduring gov- 
ernment — the government of Christ — is to rest on 
justice. And so, our government must rest on justice 
if it is to endure. But what is justice? We are fa- 
miliar with this word but how shall it be interpreted in 
governmental terms ? Christ furnished the solution — 
He presented a scheme of Universal Brotherhood in 
which justice will be possible. 

To show how important this doctrine of brother- 
hood Is, let us consider for a moment the alternative 
relationship. There are but two attitudes that one can 



222 *^HIS GOVEENME^T AND PEACE ^^ 

assume in regard to his fellowmen — the attitude of 
brother and the attitude of the brute; there is no mid- 
dle ground. 

This is the choice that each human being must make 
— a choice as distinct and fundamental as the choice 
between God and Baal; and it is a choice not unlike 
that. 

One may be a very weak brother or a very feeble 
brute, but each person is, consciously or unconsciously, 
controlled by the sympathetic spirit of brotherhood or 
he hunts for spoil with the savage hunger of a beast of 
prey. 

I am not making a new classification ; I am merely 
calling attention to a classification that has come down 
from the beginning of history. Many years ago I 
heard a man from New Zealand tell how a cannibal in 
that country once supported his claim to a piece of land 
on the ground that the title passed to him when he ate 
the former owner. I accepted this story as a bit of 
humour, but it accurately describes an historic form of 
title. Even among the highly civilized nations gov- 
ernments convey to their subjects or citizens land se- 
cured by conquest, the lands being taken from the con- 
quered by the conquerors. A tramp, so the story goes, 
being ordered out of a nobleman's yard, questioned the 
owner's title. The latter explained that the title to the 
land had come down to him in unbroken line from 
father to son through a period of 700 years, begin- 
ning with an ancestor who fought for it. " Let's 
fight for it again," suggested the tramp. 

To show how ancient is the distinction that I am 



"HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE" 223 

trying to make clear, I remind you that both the 
Psalmist and Solomon used the word " brutish " in 
describing certain kinds of men, and one of the minor 
prophets calls down wrath upon those who build a city 
with blood. Christ, it will be remembered, denounced 
the hypocrites who devoured widows' houses and for a 
pretense made long prayers. 

The devouring did not cease with that generation; 
it is to-day a menace to stable government and to civili- 
zation itself. In times of peace we have the profiteer 
who is guilty of practices which violate all rules of 
morality even when they do not actually violate statute 
law. In this " Land of the free and home of the 
brave/' we have been compelled to enact laws to re- 
strain brutishness — ^not only laws to prevent assault, 
murder, arson, the white slave traffic, etc., but also 
laws to restrain men engaged in legitimate business. 
Pure food laws prevent the adulteration of that 
which the people eat — ^men were willing to destroy 
health and even life In order to add to their profits. 
Child labour laws have become necessary to keep em- 
ployers from dwarfing the bodies, minds and souls of 
the young in their haste to make larger dividends. 

Usury laws are necessary to protect the borrowers 
from the lenders, and, from occasional violations, we 
can judge what the condition would be if the very re- 
spectable business of banking was not strictly regulated 
by law. We have an anti-trust law intended to pre- 
vent the devouring of small industries by large ones — 
a law made necessary by injustice nation-wide in ex- 
tent. 



224 '' HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE '' 

Congress and the legislatures of the several states 
are constantly compelled to legislate against so-called 
" business '' enterprises that are being conducted on a 
brute basis — some are combinations in restraint of 
trade, others are merely gambling transactions. For a 
generation the agriculturists, who constitute about one- 
third of our entire population, have been at the mercy 
of a comparatively small group of market gamblers 
who, by betting, force prices up or down for their own 
pecuniary gain. An anti-option law has been recently 
enacted after an agitation of nearly thirty years, 
and also a law regulating the packers. These 
are only a few illustrations; they could be multiplied 
without limit. They show how unbrotherly society 
sometimes is even in this highly favoured nation. 

How can Christ's teachings relieve the situation? 
Easily. He dealt with fundamentals, and gave spe- 
cial attention to the causes of evil. He taught, first, 
that man should love God — the basis of all religion; 
second. He taught that man should commune with the 
Heavenly Father through prayer — the basis of all wor- 
ship; third. He proclaimed the existence of a future 
life in which the righteous shall be rewarded and the 
wicked punished. These three doctrines contribute 
powerfully to morality, the basis of stable government. 
In another address I have called attention to the de- 
structive influence exerted by the doctrine of evolution, 
as applied to man, and have pointed out how Darwin- 
ism weakens faith In God, makes a mockery of prayer, 
undermines belief in immortality, reduces Christ to 
the stature of a man, lessens the sense of brotherhood 



*^ HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE " 225 

and encourages brutishness. It is unnecessary, there- 
fore, to dwell upon this subject in this address. 

Christ warned against the sins into which man is 
sure to fall when the heart is not wholly devoted to the 
service of God, He shows how evil in the heart will 
manifest itself in the life. Greed is at the bottom of 
most of the wrong-doing with which government has 
to deal The Bible says " the love of money is a root 
of all kinds of evil" 

It surely is responsible for unspeakable ills. The 
case is so plain that human reason would seem suffi- 
cient to furnish a cure. It ought not to be difficult to 
agree upon the principles that should govern legitimate 
accumulations. 

There are two propositions that cover the whole 
ground; one is economic and the other rests upon re- 
ligion. Both are based upon the laws of God, but one 
can be enforced by the government, while the other is 
binding on the conscience alone. 

The divine law of rewards is self-evident. When 
God gave us the earth with its fertile soil, the sunshine 
with its warmth and the rains with their moisture, His 
voice proclaimed as clearly as if it had issued from the 
skies: Go work, and in proportion to your industry and 
ability so shall be your reward. This is God's law and 
it will prevail except where force suspends it or cun- 
ning evades it. It is the duty of the Church to teach, 
and the duty of Christians to respect, God's law of 
rewards. 

It IS the duty of the government to give free course 
and full sway to the divine law of rewards; first, by 



226 ** HIS GOVEENMEITT AND PEACE ^' 

abstaining from interference with that law; and sec- 
ond, by preventing interference by individuals. No 
defense need be made of the righteousness of this law; 
just in so far as the government can make it possible 
for each individual to draw from society according to 
his contribution to the welfare of society it will en- 
courage the maximum of effort on the part of the indi- 
vidual and, therefore, on the part of society as a whole. 
If some receive more than their share, others will nec- 
essarily receive less than their share — the very essence 
of injustice; the former will become indolent because 
work is not required of them and the latter will grow 
desperate because their toil is not fairly rewarded. In- 
justice is the greatest enemy of government. 

But there is a sphere which the government cannot 
and should not invade. The government's work ends 
when it has insured just rewards by preventing unjust 
profits, but even a just government cannot bring about 
an equal distribution of happiness. It can and should 
guarantee equality before the law — that is, equality of 
opportunity and equal treatment at the hand of the 
government — ^but that will not insure equal prosperity 
to each or bestow on all an equal amount of enjoy- 
ment. Ability will have to be taken into considera- 
tion, and likewise, industry, integrity and many other 
factors. 

While the government can encourage all the virtues 
it cannot compel them; there is a zone between that 
which can be legally required and that which is morally 
desirable. When the government has done all in its 
power — all that it can do and all that it should do— 



^^HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE" 227 

there will be inequalities in success, based upon in- 
equalities in merit. There must, therefore, be a spiri- 
tual law to govern when the statute law, based upon 
economic principles, has reached its limit. 

Christ suggests such a law — the law of stewardship. 
We hold what we have — ^no matter how justly ac- 
quired — in trust. That which is ours by economic 
right and by the government's permission, is not ours 
to waste. We have no more moral right to squander 
it foolishly than we have to throw away our bodily 
strength, our mental energy or our moral worth. 

When we analyze ourselves we find that there is 
little of real value in us for which we can claim sole 
credit. We inherit much from ancestry and draw 
much from environment long before we are able to 
choose our surroundings. The ideals which come to 
us from others will account for nearly all that we do 
not derive from the past and from those among whom 
we spend our youth. If one has accepted Christ, re- 
ceived forgiveness of sin and been brought into living 
contact with the Heavenly Father, he becomes indebted 
beyond the power of language to describe. Our in- 
debtedness if discharged at all must be paid not, as a 
rule, to those who have contributed most largely to 
making us what we are, but by general service to those 
now living and to those who succeed us. Our debtors 
are as impersonal as our creditors. 

Nothing could contribute more to the security of the 
government than an approximation to the divine stand- 
ard of rewards, and if all then recognized and obeyed 
the law of stewardship nearly all the complaint that 



228 '^HIS GOVEENIVIENT AND PEACE ^^ 

would still exist would be silenced by the volunteer 
service rendered by the fortunate to the unfortunate. 

"The mob" — the terror of orderly government — 
has been described by Victor Hugo as "the human 
race in misery." When the brotherhood of Christ is 
established a just standard of rewards will abolish law- 
made misery and private benevolence will relieve such 
suffering as may come upon the members of society 
without their fault and in spite of all the government 
can do. 

But plain as are the dangers arising from love of 
money, and reasonable as seem the means of meeting 
them, the mad race for riches goes on all over the 
world. The mind is powerless to call a halt ; intellec- 
tual processes fail — man needs a voice that can speak 
with authority — a voice that must be obeyed. He 
needs even more — ^he needs to be born again. His 
heart must be cleansed and his thoughts turned to 
higher things. It is to such that Christ appeals when 
He asks: " What shall it profit a man if he shall gain 
the whole world, and lose his own soul ? " Let man 
cease to be brutish and become brotherly and he will 
need few restraining statutes. 

If it is brutish to turn so-called legitimate business 
into grand larceny, what shall be said of those forms 
of money-making that deprave both parties to the 
transaction? The liquor traffic furnished the best 
illustration of the power of the dollar to blind the eyes 
of greedy men to the crime and misery produced by 
drink. The beneficiaries of this wicked business for- 
merly included high church officials — and does yet in 



*<HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE'' 229 

some countries — who swelled their incomes with the 
dividends collected from vice ; they included also highly 
respected brewers and distillers as well as saloon- 
keepers of all degrees. The fact that the liquor traffic 
manufactured criminals, ruined men and women, pro- 
duced poverty, disrupted families, lowered the stand- 
ard of education, lessened attendance upon worship 
and even afflicted little children before their birth, was 
not sufficient to deter people from engaging in it — even 
some calling themselves Christians. The handling of 
intoxicating drinks continued openly until these cen- 
ters of pollution were closed by an emphatic expression 
of the nation's conscience. 

Now, the fight is against the bootlegger and the 
smuggler. The man who peddles liquor, like the man 
who sells habit-forming drugs, is an outlaw and his 
trade is branded as an enemy of society. The sanction 
given to prohibition by the law brings to its support all 
who respect orderly government and reduces the ene- 
mies of prohibition to those whose fondness for drink, 
or for the profits obtainable from its illicit sale, is suf- 
ficient to overcome conscientious scruples and a sense 
of civic duty. Those who oppose prohibition now are 
shameless enough to become voluntary companions of 
the lawless members of society, but this number will 
constantly decrease as the virtue of the country asserts 
itself at the polls in the election of officials who are in 
sympathy with the enforcement of the law. 

The imrest which pervades the Industrial world to- 
day also threatens the stability of government. The 
members of the Capitalistic group and the members of 



230 ^'HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE ^^ 

the Labour group are becoming more and more class- 
conscious; they are soUdifying as if they looked for- 
ward with a vague dread to what they regard as an 
inevitable class conflict. The same plan, Universal 
Brotherhood, can reconcile all class differences. Is 
there any other plan? Christ died for all — the em- 
ployer as well as the employee; He is the friend of 
those who pay wages as well as of those who work for 
wages ; the children of one class are as dear to Him as 
the children of the other. His creed brings man into 
harmony with God and then teaches him to love his 
neighbour as himself. To put human rights before 
property rights — the man before the dollar, is simply 
to put the teachings of the Saviour into modern lan- 
guage and apply them to present-day conditions. 

The whole code of morals of the Nazarene is a pro- 
test against the attitude of antagonism between capital 
and labour. He pleads for sympathy and fellowship. 
Every worker should give to society the maximum of 
his productive power — but he cannot do this unless he 
is a willing worker. Every employer should give to 
society the maximum of his organizing and directing 
ability, but he cannot do it unless he is a satisfied em- 
ployer. What plan but the plan of Christ can fill the 
world with willing workers and satisfied employers? 
Capitalism, supported by force, cannot save civiliza- 
tion; neither can government by any class assure the 
justice that makes for permanence in government. 
Only brotherly love can make employers willing to pay 
fair compensation for work done and employees anx- 
ious to give fair work for their wages. 



"HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE ^^ 231 

One of the first fruits of the spirit of brotherhood 
will be investigation before strike or lockout, just as 
our nation has provided for investigation before war. 
If these bloody conflicts cannot be entirely abolished 
to-day the civilized nations should at least know why 
they are to shoot before they begin shooting. The 
world, too, should know. War is not a private affair ; 
it disturbs the commerce of the world, obstructs the 
ocean's highways and kills innocent bystanders. Neu- 
tral nations suffer as well as those at war. If peace- 
fully inclined nations cannot avoid loss and suffering 
after war is begun, they certainly have a right to de- 
mand information as to the nature and merits of the 
dispute before any nation begins to " shoot up " civili- 
zation. 

The strike and the lockout are to our industrial life 
what war is between nations, and the general public 
stands in much the same position as neutral nations. 
The number of those actually injured by a suspension 
of industry is often many times as great as the total 
number of employers and employees in that industry 
combined. 

If, for instance, ninety-five per cent, of the people 
are asked to freeze while the mine owners and the 
mine workers (numbering possibly five per cent.) fight 
out their differences, have they not a right to demand 
information as to the merits of the dispute before the 
shivering begins? If the home builders are asked to 
suspend construction while the steel manufacturers and 
steel workers (but a small fraction of the population) 
go to war over the terms of employment, have they not 



232 "HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE" 

a right to inquire why before they begin to move into 
tents? And so with disputes between railroads and 
their employees. 

Compulsory arbitration of all disputes between la- 
bour and capital is as improbable as compulsory arbi- 
tration of all disputes between nations, but the com- 
pulsory investigation of all disputes (before lockout or 
strike) will come as soon as the Golden Rule — an ex- 
pression of brotherhood — is adopted in industry. 
When each man loves his neighbour as himself all 
rights will be safeguarded — the rights of employees, 
the rights of employers and the rights of the public — 
that important third party that furnishes the profits for 
the employer and the wages for the employee. 

Ambition has been a disturbing factor in govern- 
ment. The ambitions of monarchs have overthrown 
governments and enslaved races. In republics, the 
ambitions of aspirants for office have caused revolu- 
tions and corrupted politics. No form of government 
is immune to the evils that flow from ambition, or 
proof against those who plot for their own political 
advancement. For this evil, too, Christ has a remedy. 
He changes the point of view. It seems a simple 
thing, but behold the transformation! " Let him who 
would be chiefest among you be servant of all.'* He 
makes service the measure of greatness. This is one 
of the most important of the many great doctrines 
taught by the Saviour. It puts the accent on giving 
instead of getting; It measures a life by the outflow 
rather than by the income. Men had been in the 
habit of estimating their greatness by the amount of 



*^HIS GOVEEISTMBNT AND PEACE 233 

service they could coerce or buy; Christ taught them 
to measure their greatness by service rendered to 
others. A wonderful transformation will take place 
in this old world when all are animated by a desire to 
contribute to the public good rather than by an ambi- 
tion to absorb as much as possible from society. 

Brotherhood is easily established among those who 
" in honour prefer one another '' — ^who are willing to 
hold office when they are needed, but as willing to 
serve under others as to command. It is impossible to 
overestimate the contribution that Christ has made to 
enduring government in suppressing unworthy amoi- 
tion and in implanting high and ennobling ideals. 

War may be mentioned as the fourth foe of endur- 
ing government. It is the resultant of many forces. 
Love of money is probably more responsible for mod- 
ern wars than any other one cause ; commercial rival- 
ries lead nations into injustice and unfair dealing. 

Wars are sometimes waged to extend trade— the 
blood of many being shed to enrich a few. The sup- 
plying of battleships and munitions is so profitable a 
business that wars are encouraged by some for the 
money they bring to certain classes. Prejudices are 
aroused, jealousies are stirred up and hatreds are 
fanned into flame. Class conflicts cause wars and 
selfish ambitions have often embroiled nations ; in fact, 
war IS like a boil. It Indicates that there Is poison In the 
blood. Christ Is the great physician whose teachings 
purify the blood of the body politic and restore health. 

In dealing with the subject of war we cannot Ignore 
another great foundation principle of Christianity, 



234 '^HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE ^^ 

namely, forgiveness. The war through which the 
world has recently passed is not only without a paral- 
lel in the blood and treasure it has cost, but it was 
a typical war in that nearly every important war-pro- 
ducing cause contributed to the fierceness of the con- 
flict. Personal ambition, trade rivalries, the greed of 
munition-makers, race hatreds and revenge — all played 
a part in the awful tragedy. Thirty millions of human 
lives were sacrificed; three hundred billion dollars' 
worth of property was destroyed; more than two hun- 
dred ^billion dollars of indebtedness was added to the 
burden that the world was already carrying. The 
paper currency of the nations was swollen from seven 
billions to fifty-six and the gold reserve dwindled from 
seventy per cent, to twelve. 

And, oh, the pity ! nearly every great nation engaged 
in the war was a Christian nation and every important 
branch of the Church was involved! And this oc- 
curred nineteen hundred years after the birth of the 
Saviour, at whose coming the angels sang, '' on earth, 
peace, good- will to men." 

The world is weary of war. If blood is necessary 
for the remission of sins, enough has been spilled to 
atone for the wrong done by all who live upon the 
earth ; if sorrow is necessary to repentance and reform, 
enough tears have been shed to wash away all the 
crimes of the past. This last plague would seem to 
have been sufficient to release the world from bondage 
to force — if so, mankind is ready to turn over a new 
leaf and set about the task of finding a way to prevent 
wan 



*^HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE'' 236 

As Christ can remove the pecuniary cause of war by 
purging the heart of that love of money which leads 
men into evil doings, the class-conflict cause by stimu- 
lating brotherly love, and the ambition cause, by set- 
ting up a new measure of greatness ; so He can subdue 
hatred and silence the cry for revenge. 

" Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord," 
should be a restraint, but Christ goes farther and com- 
mands us to love our enemies. That was the complete 
cure for which the world was not ready when God 
made Moses His spokesman. " Thou shalt not," came 
first ; " Thou shalt," came later. Christ's creed com- 
pels positive helpfulness and love is the basis of that 
creed. 

Love makes money-grabbing seem contemptible; 
love makes class prejudice impossible; love makes 
selfish ambition a thing to be despised; love converts 
enemies into friends. 

It may encourage us to expect Christ's teachings to 
bring world peace if we consider for a moment what 
has already been accomplished in the establishing of 
peace between individuals. Take, for instance, the doc- 
trine of forgiveness as applied to indebtedness. In 
Christ's time debtors were not only imprisoned but 
members of the family could be sold into bondage to 
satisfy a pecuniary obligation. In Matthew (chap. 18) 
we have a picture of the cruelty which the creditor was 
permitted to practice: 

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a 
certain king, which would take account of his servants. 
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto 



236 <^HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE ^' 

him, which owed him ten thousand talents [ten million 
dollars]. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord 
commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, 
and all that he had, and payment to be made. The serv- 
ant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, 
Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compas- 
sion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the 
same servant went out, and found one of his fellow- 
servants which owed him an hundred pence [seventeen 
dollars] ; and he laid hands on him, and took him by the 
throat, saying. Pay me that thou owest. And his fel- 
lowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, say- 
ing, Have patience with me, and I will gay thee alL 
And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, 
till he should pay the debt. So when his f ellowservants 
saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and 
told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, 
after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked 
servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desir- 
edst me : Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on 
thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his 
lord was wToth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till 
he should pay all that was due unto him. 

If Christ were to reappear to-day he would find im- 
prisonment for debt abolished throughout nearly all, 
if not the entire, civilized world. The law stays the 
hand of the creditor, or rather withholds from him the 
instruments of torture which he formerly employed. 
Here we have the doctrine of forgiveness applied in a 
very practical form. It is based on mercy, and yet in 
a larger sense it rests on justice and promotes the wel- 
fare of society. 

But compassion has gone further; we have the ex- 
emption law which secures to the debtor the food neces- 
sary for his family and the tools by which he makes his 



"HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE '^ 237 

living. Christ's doctrine has been applied further still ; 
we have the bankruptcy law which gives a new lease of 
life to an insolvent debtor if his failure is without 
criminal fault on his part. By turning over to his 
creditors all the property he has above exemptions he 
can go forth from court free from all legal obligations 
and begin business unembarrassed. Some who take 
advantage of these provisions of the law may be indif- 
ferent to the Teacher whose loving spirit has thus 
conquered the hard heart of the world, but the triumph 
marks a step in human advance and suggests possible 
changes in other directions as the principle is increas- 
ingly applied to daily life. 

International law still permits greater cruelty in war 
than accompanied imprisonment for debt. National 
obligations are enforced by killing the innocent as well 
as the guilty. Ports are blockaded, cities are besieged 
and even bombed, and non-combatants are starved and 
drowned. 

As imprisonment for debt has disappeared and as 
duelling is giving way to the suit at law, so war will 
be succeeded by courts of arbitration and tribunals for 
investigation. All real progress toward peace is in 
line with the teachings of the Nazarene and this prog- 
ress hastens the coming of governments that shall 
endure. 

With the conclusion of the World War our nation 
confronts such an opportunity as never came to any 
other nation — such an opportunity as never came to 
our nation before. We were the only great nation 
that sought no selfish advantage and had no old scores 



238 *^HIS GOVERimENT AND PEACE" 

to settle, no spirit of revenge to gratify. Our con- 
tributions were made for the world's benefit — to end 
war and make self-government respected everywhere. 
We entered the conflict at the time when we could 
render the maximum of service with a minimum of 
sacrifice. At the peace conference we asked nothing 
for ourselves — ^no territorial additions, no indemnities, 
no reimbursements — just world peace, universal and 
perpetual. That was to be our recompense. 

It is not entirely the fault of other nations that they 
do not stand exactly in the same position that we do. 
In many respects their situations are different from 
ours. They have received from the past an inheritance 
of race and national hostility; they have their com- 
mercial ambitions ; they have their military and naval 
groups with antiquated standards of honour, not to 
speak of those who, feeding on war contracts, feel 
that they have a vested interest in carnage. Besides 
these hindrances to peace they lack several advantages 
which we enjoy over any other nation of importance, 
viz., more complete information in regard to other peo- 
ple, a more general sympathy with other nations and 
a greater moral obligation to them. Our nation be- 
ing made up of the best blood of the nations of Eu- 
rope, we learn to know the people at home through 
the representatives who come here. Because of our 
intimate connection with the foreign elements of our 
country our sympathy goes out to all lands; and be- 
cause we have received from other nations as no other 
nation ever did, we are in duty bound to give as no 
other nation has given* 



"HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE '> 239 

We have given the world a peace plan that provides 
for the investigation of all disputes before a resort 
to arms — a plan that gives time for passions to sub- 
side and for reason to resume her sway. We have 
substituted the maxim: " Nothing is final between 
friends," for the old-fashioned diplomacy based on 
threats and ultimatums. We have turned from the 
blood-stained precedents of the past and invoked a 
spirit of brotherhood for the purpose of preventing 
wars. These treaties contain a provision which, 
though seemingly very simple, is profoundly signifi- 
cant. In former times treaties ran for a certain num- 
ber of years and then lapsed unless renewed. The 
thirty treaties negotiated by our nation in 1913 and 
1914 with three-quarters of the world, providing for 
investigation of all disputes before hostilities can be- 
gin, run for five years and then, instead of lapsing, 
continue until one year after one of the parties to the 
treaty has formally demanded its termination. Note 
the difference: the old treaties gave the presumption 
to war — the new treaties give the presumption to 
peace. As our constitution requires a two-thirds vote 
for ratification of a treaty, a minority of the Senate 
(as few as one-third plus one) could prevent the re- 
newal of a treaty ; under the new plan the treaty con- 
tinues indefinitely until a majority denounce it. 

But while we have made a splendid beginning as the 
leader of the peace movement in the world much re- 
mains to be done. Our nation should lead in the cru- 
sade for disarmament ; no other nation is so well quali- 
fied for leadership in this movement so necessary for 



240 '' HIS GOVEENMEEfT AND PEACE '' 

civilization. The desire for peace, intensified by the 
agonies of an unprecedented war, ought to be suffi- 
cient to bring about disarmament; it should be un- 
necessary to invoke financial reasons. But national 
debts have increased so enormously as to have become 
unbearable and the world must disarm or face uni- 
versal bankruptcy. The reaction against militarism is 
more advanced, but the reaction against navalism is 
just as sure to come— one cannot survive without the 
support of the other. Rivalry in the building of bat- 
tleships will not long be tolerated after rivalry in land 
forces has been abandoned. 

The United States should be the champion of the 
Christian method of preserving peace — and the world 
is ready for it. The devil never won a greater victory 
than when he persuaded statesmen to make the absurd 
experiment of trying to prevent war by getting ready 
for it. " Arm yourselves," he whispered, " and you 
will never have to use your weapons." How his 
Satanic majesty must have gloated over the gullibility 
of his dupes. 

John Bright, Quaker statesman of Great Britain, 
pointed out the fallacy of this policy. He called 
it, " Worshipping the scimitar " and predicted that 
it would invite war instead of preventing it But 
the din of the munition factories drowned the voice 
of protest and the civilized world — ^yes, the Chris- 
tian world — went into a prepared war, each nation pro- 
testing that it was drawn into the conflict against its 
will. 

Permanent peace cannot rest upon terrorism; 



<* HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE '' 241 

friendship alone can inspire peace, and friendship has 
no swagger in its gait; it does not flourish a sword. 
Our nation has invited the world to a conference to 
consider the limitation of armaments; if disarmament 
by agreement fails we should enter upon a systematic 
policy of reduction ourselves and by so doing arouse 
the Christians, the friends of humanity and the toil- 
ers of the world to the criminal folly of the brute 
method of dealing with this question. 

We should also join the world in creating a tribunal 
before which every complaint of international injus- 
tice can be heard. If reason is to be substituted for 
force the forum instituted for the consideration of 
these questions must have authority to hear all issues 
between nations, in order that public opinion, based 
upon information, may compel such action as may be 
necessary to remove discord. 

It does not lessen the value of such a tribunal to 
withhold from it the power to enforce its findings by 
the weapons of warfare. In the case of our own na- 
tion, we have no constitutional right to transfer to 
another nation authority to declare war for us, or to 
impair our freedom of action when the time for action 
arrives. 

Then, too, the judgment that rests upon its merits 
alone, and is not enforceable by war, is more apt to 
be fair than one that can be executed by those who 
render it. A persuasive plea appeals to the reason ; a 
command is usually uttered in an entirely different 
spirit. 

There is another difference between a recommenda- 



242 ''BIB GOVEENMBNT AND PBACE'^ 

tion and a decree ; if the European nations could call 
our army and navy into their service at any time they 
might yield to the temptation to use our resources to 
advance their ambitions. As the man who carries a 
revolver is more likely than an unarmed man to be 
drawn into a fight, so the European nations would be 
more apt to engage in selfish quarrels if they carried 
the fighting power of the United States in their hip 
pocket. For their own good, as well as for our pro- 
tection and for the saving of civilization, it is well to 
require a clear and complete statement of the reasons 
for the war and of the ends that the belligerents have 
in view, before we mingle our blood with theirs upon 
the battle-field. 

Our nation is in an ideal position; it has financial 
power and moral prestige; it has disinterestedness of 
purpose and far-reaching sympathy. When to these 
qualifications for leadership independence of action is 
added we can render the maximum of service to the 
world. 

It matters not what name is given to the cooperative 
body; it may be a League of Nations or an Associa- 
tion of Nations or anything else. The name is a mere 
form ; the tribunal should be the greatest that has ever 
assembled. Our delegates should be chosen by the 
people directly, as our senators, our congressmen, our 
governors, and our legislators are, and as our President 
virtually is. Representatives chosen to speak for the 
American people on such momentous themes as will 
be discussed in that body should have their commis- 
sions signed by the sovereign voters themselves. We 



iC 



HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE " 243 



cannot afford to intrust the selection of these delegates 
to the President or to Congress. The members of our 
delegation should not be discredited by any flavour of 
presidential favouritism or by any taint of Congres- 
sional log-rolling. 

Delegates, selected by popular vote in districts, 
would reflect the sentiment of the entire country, and 
their power would be enhanced rather than decreased 
if they were compelled to seek endorsement of their 
views on vital questions at a referendum vote. Their 
authority to cast the nation's vote for war ought to 
be subject to the approval of the people, expressed at 
the ballot box. Those who are to furnish the blood 
and take upon themselves the burden of war-debts 
ought to be consulted before the solemn duties and the 
sacrifices of war are required of them. 

Our nation can, by its example, teach the world the 
true meaning of that democracy which was to be made 
safe throughout the world. The essence of democracy 
is found in the right of the people to have what they 
want, and experience shows that the best way to find 
out what the people want is to ask them. There is 
more virtue in the people themselves than can be found 
anywhere else; the faults of popular government re- 
sult chiefly from the embezzlement of power by repre- 
sentatives of the people — the people themselves are not 
often at fault. But, suppose they make mistakes oc- 
casionally: have they not a right to make their own 
mistakes f Who has a right to make mistakes for 
them? 

The Saviour not only furnished a solution for all of 



244 ^^HIS GOVEENMENT AOT) PEACE 



M 



life's problems, individual and governmental, national 
and international, but He also called His followers to 
the performance of the duties of citizenship: " Render 
unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the 
things that are God's," was the answer that Christ 
made to those who were quibbling about the claims of 
the government under which they lived. 

The citizen is a unit of the community in which he 
lives and a part of his government. Our government 
derives its power from the consent of the governed; 
what kind of a government would we have if all Chris- 
tians were indifferent to its claims? No rule can be 
laid dowTi for one citizen that does not apply to all; 
each citizen, therefore, should bear his share of the 
burden if he is to claim his share of the government 
protection. The teachings of Christ require that w^e 
should respect the rights of others as well as insist 
upon the recognition of our own rights. In fact, the 
recognition of the rights of others is a higher form 
of patriotism than mere insistence upon that which is 
due us and the spirit of brotherhood is calculated to 
create just such a community of interest. Each will 
find his security in the safety of all — the welfare of 
each being the concern of the whole group. 

In a government like ours the Christian is compelled 
by conscience to avoid sins of omission as well as sins 
of commission; he must not only avoid the doing of 
evil, but he must not permit wrong-doing by law if he 
can prevent it. In other words, the conscientious citi- 
zen must understand the principles of his government, 
the methods employed by his govemrnent and the poli- 



'^HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE '^ 245 

cies that come before the government for adoption or 
rejection. He is a partner in a very important busi- 
ness — a stockholder in the greatest of all corporations. 
If the good people of the land do not do their duty 
as citizens they may be sure that bad people will use 
the power and instrumentalities of government for 
their own advantage and for the injury of the many. 

An indifferent Christian? It is impossible. A 
Christian cannot be indifferent without betraying a 
sacred trust. And yet every bad law, and every bad 
condition that can be remedied by a good law, pro- 
claims an indifferent citizenship or a citizenship lack- 
ing in virtue, for popular government is merely a 
reflection of the character of its active citizenship. 

The charitable view to take of a nation's failure to 
have the best government, the best laws and the best 
administration possible, is not that the citizenship is 
lacking in virtue and good intent, but that it is lack- 
ing in information. It is the business of the good 
citizen, therefore, to encourage the spread of accurate 
information — the dissemination of light — in order that 
those who " love darkness rather than light because 
their deeds are evil " may not be able to work under 
cover. No evil can stand long against a united Chris- 
tian citizenship ; witness how prohibition came as soon 
as the churches united against the saloon. 

Having faith in the power of truth to win its way 
when understood, Christians believe In publicity and 
are not afraid to call every evil before the bar of pub- 
lic judgment. Believing In the superhuman wisdom 
of Christ, as well as in the saving power of His blood, 



246 ^'HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE '^ 

they are bold to apply His code of morals to every 
problem. His is a name that will increasingly arouse 
the hosts of righteousness to irresistible attacks on the 
brutishness that endangers government, society and 
civilization. 

I am so confident that the Christian citizenship of 
this country will prove faithful to every trust and rise 
to the requirements of every emergency that I venture 
to repeat a forecast of our nation's future, made more 
than twenty years ago: 

I can conceive of a national destiny which meets 
the responsibilities of to-day and measures up to the 
possibilities of to-morrow. Behold a republic, resting 
securely upon the mountain of eternal truth — a repub- 
lic applying in practice and proclaiming to the world 
the self-evident propositions that all men are created 
equal; that they are endowed with inalienable rights; 
that governments are instituted among men to secure 
these rights; and that governments derive their just 
powers from the consent of the governed. Behold a 
republic, in which civil and religious liberty stimulate 
all to earnest endeavour and in which the law restrains 
every hand uplifted for a neighbour's injury — a re- 
public in which every citizen is a sovereign, but in 
which no one cares to wear a crown. Behold a re- 
public, standing erect, while empires all around are 
bowed beneath the weight of their own armaments — a 
republic whose flag is loved while other flags are only 
feared. Behold a republic, increasing in population, 
in wealth, in strength and in influence; solving the 
problems of civilization, and hastening the coming of 



"HIS GOVEENMENT AND PEACE ^^ 247 

an universal brotherhood — a republic which shakes 
thrones and dissolves aristocracies by its silent ex- 
ample and gives light and inspiration to those who 
sit in darkness. Behold a republic, gradually but 
surely becoming the supreme moral factor to the 
world's progress and the accepted arbiter of the 
world's disputes — a republic whose history like the 
path of the just — " is as the shining light that shineth 
more and more unto the perfect day/' 



IX 

THE SPOKEN WORD 

SOME have prophesied that with the spread of 
the newspaper public speaking would decline — 
but the prediction has not been fulfilled and its 
failure is easily explained. In the first place, the writ- 
ten page can never be a substitute for the message 
delivered orally. The newspaper vastly multiplies the 
audience but they hear only the echo, not the speech 
itself. One cannot write as he speaks because he lacks 
the inspiration furnished by an audience. Gladstone 
has very happily described the influence exerted by 
the audience upon the speaker, an influence which re- 
turns to the audience stamped with his own person- 
ality. He says that the speaker draws inspiration 
from the audience in the form of mist and pours it 
back in a flood. It need hardly be added that this re- 
fers to speaking without manuscript, but reading, 
while always regrettable, is sometimes necessary — 
especially when accuracy is more important than the 
immediate effect. 

In order to secure both accuracy and animation it 
is well to prepare the speedi in advance and then re- 
vise it after delivery. 

With increased intelligence a larger percentage of 
the population are able to think upon their feet, to 

348 



THE SPOKEN WOED 249 

take part in public discussions and to ^ve their com- 
munity and country the benefit of their conscience and 
judgment. The fraternities and labour and commer- 
cial organizations have largely aided in the develop- 
ment of speaking by the exchange of views at their 
regular meetings. The extension of popular govern- 
ment naturally increases public speaking as it brings 
the masses into closer relation to the government and 
makes them more and more a controlling force in 
politics. 

The newspapers, instead of making the stump un- 
necessary, often increase the necessity for face to face 
communication in order that both sides may be repre- 
sented and, sometimes, in order that misrepresenta- 
tions may be exposed. 

No substitute can be found for the pulpit. Earnest- 
ness which finds expression through the voice cannot 
be communicated through the printed page. If we are 
thrilled by what we read it gives us only a glimpse of 
the power of speech to stir the soul. If the spoken 
word is to continue to play an important part in the 
commimication of information and in the compelling 
of thought it is worth while to consider some of the 
rules that contribute to the effectiveness of the pulpit 
and the platform. 

Sometimes I receive a letter from a young man who 
informs me that he is a bom orator and asks what 
such an one should do to prepare him for his life-work. 
I answer that while an orator must be born like others 
his success will not depend on inheritance, neither will 
a favourable environment in youth assure it. An an- 



250 THE SPOKEN WOED 

cestor's fame may inspire him to effort and the associa- 
tions of the fireside may stimulate, but abiUty to speak 
effectively is an acquirement rather than a gift. 

Eloquence may be defined as the speech of one who 
knows what he is talking about and means what he 
says — it is thought on fire. One cannot communicate 
information unless he possesses it. There is quite a 
difference in people in this respect; we say of one that 
he knows more than he can tell and, of another, that 
he can tell all he knows, but it is a reflection upon a 
man to say that he can tell more than he knows. 

The first thing, therefore, is to know the subject. 
One should know his subject so well that a question 
will aid rather than embarrass him. A question from 
the audience annoys one only when the speaker is 
unable to answer it or does not want to answer it. 
Many a speaker has been brought into ridicule by a 
question that revealed his lack of information on the 
subject; and a speaker has sometimes been routed by 
a question that revealed something he intended to con- 
ceal. Before discussing a subject one should go all 
around it and view it from every standpoint, asking 
and answering all the questions likely to be put by 
his opponents. Nothing strengthens a speaker more 
than to be able to answer every question put to him. 
His argument is made much more forcible because the 
question focuses attention on the particular point; a 
ready answer makes a deeper impression than the 
speaker could make by the use of the same language 
without the benefit of the question to excite interest 
in the proposition. 



THE SPOKEN WOED 251 

But knowledge is of little use to the speaker without 
earnestness. Persuasive speech is from heart to heart, 
not from mind to mind. It is difficult for a speaker 
to deceive his audience as to his own feelings ; it takes 
a trained actor to make an imaginary thing seem real. 
Nearly two thousand years ago one of the Latin poets 
expressed this thought when he said, ''If you would 
draw tears from others' eyes, yourself the signs of 
grief must show/' 

If one is master of an important subject and feels 
that he has a message that must be delivered he will 
not lack a hearing. As there are always important 
subjects before the country for settlement there will 
always be oratory. In order to speak eloquently on 
one subject a man need not be well informed on a 
large number of subjects, although information on all 
subjects is of value. One who can in a general way 
discuss a large number of subjects may be entirely out- 
classed by one who knows but one subject but knows it 
well and feels it. 

The pulpit has developed many great orators be- 
cause it furnishes the largest subject with which one 
can deal. The preacher who knows the Bible and 
feels that every human being needs the message that 
the Bible contains cannot fail to reach the hearts of 
his hearers. Dr. E. Benjamin Andrews, once the 
President of Brown University and later Chancellor 
of Nebraska University, told me of a sermon that he 
heard Jasper, the coloured preacher of Richmond, de- 
liver late in life on an anniversary occasion. Jasper 
claimed nothing for himself but attributed his long 



252 THE SPOKEN WOED 

pastorate and whatever influence he had to the fact 
that he preached from only one book — the Bible. 

When I was in college I heard a visitor draw a 
contrast between Cicero and Demosthenes. I am not 
sure that it is fair to Cicero but it brings out an im- 
portant distinction. As I recall it, the speaker said, 
" When Cicero spake the people said, ' How well 
Cicero speaks ' ; when Demosthenes spake his hearers 
cried, * Let us go against Philip.' " One impressed 
himself upon his audience while the other impressed his 
subject. It need hardly be said that in all effective ora- 
tory the speaker succeeds in proportion as he can make 
his hearers forget him in their absorption in the subject 
that he presents. I may add that there is a practical 
advantage in the speaker's^ diverting attention from 
himself. There is only one of him and he would soon 
become monotonous if he continually thrust himself 
forward; but, as subjects are innumerable, he can give 
infinite variety to his speech by putting the emphasis 
upon the theme. 

It is better that the audience, when it breaks up, 
should gather into groups and discuss what the 
speaker said than to go away saying, "What a de- 
lightful speech it was,'' and yet not remember the 
things said. Whether the statements made are true or 
not it does no harm to have them challenged; if some 
dispute what has been said and others defend the 
speaker it is certain that thought has been aroused, 
and thinking leads to truth. That is why freedom of 
speech is so essential in a republic ; it is the only process 
by which truth can be separated from error and made 



THE SPOKEN WOED 253 

to stand forth in all its strength. We should, there- 
fore, invite discussion. 

While acquaintance with the subject and heartfelt 
interest in it are the first essentials of convincing 
speech, there are other qualities that greatly strengthen 
discourse. First among these I would put clearness of 
statement Jefferson declared in the Declaration of 
Independence that certain truths are self-evident. It 
is a very conservative statement of an important fact; 
it could be made stronger: all truth is self -evident. 
The best service one can render a truth, therefore, is 
to state it so clearly that it can be understood. This 
does not mean that every self-evident truth will be im- 
mediately accepted because there are many things that 
interfere with the acceptance of truth. 

First, let us consider depth of conviction. Some 
people take their convictions more seriously than 
others. In India I heard a missionary speak of an- 
other person as having " no opinions — nothing but 
convictions"; while one of the enemies of Gladstone 
described him as being the only person he ever knew 
who " could improvise the convictions of a lifetime." 
Depth of conviction gives great force to an individual 
when he is going in the right direction, but he is diffi- 
cult to change if he is going in the wrong direction. 
When I visited the Hermitage for the first time they 
told me of an old coloured man, formerly a slave of 
Jackson's, who survived his master many years. He 
was, of course, an object of interest and many ques- 
tions were asked in regard to Jackson's characteristics. 
One visitor inquired of him if he thought Andrew 



254 THE SPOKEN WOED 

Jackson went to heaven. He quickly responded, " I£ 
he sot his head that way, he did/' 

Prejudice also delays the spread of truth. People 
sometimes brace themselves against arguments. If I 
may be pardoned a personal illustration I will cite a 
case of political prejudice that came under my own 
observation. I was speaking in a town in western 
Nebraska, an out-of-the-way place that I had seldom 
visited. A friend heard a man say, " Well, I never 
heard him and I thought I would come and see what 
he has to say/* And then, with a determined look 
upon his face he added, " But he will not convince 
me." Political prejudice is not so hard to overcome as 
race prejudice and race prejudice is not so deep-seated 
as religious prejudice; but prejudice of any kind, 
whether it be personal, political, race, or religious, 
seriously interferes with the progress of truth. 

Narrowness of vision often obstructs acceptance of 
truth. One must be made to feel interested in the sub- 
ject before he will listen to that which is said about it. 
Aristotle has suggested a means by which each one 
can measure himself. " If he is interested in himself 
only he is very small; if he is interested in his family 
he is larger; if he is interested in his community he is 
larger still" Thus he grows in size as his sympathies 
expand — ^the largest person being the one whose heart 
takes in the whole world. In proportion as we can 
enlarge the horizon of the hearer we can increase the 
number of subjects to which he will give attention. 
The minister has an advantage in that he deals with 
the one subject about which all mankind thinks. The 



THE SPOKEN WOED 255 

soul yearns for God: it is man^s highest aspiration 
and his most enduring concern. When one's heart is 
changed — when he is born again — ^he listens to, under- 
stands and accepts arguments that he rejected before. 

Selfish interest is one of the most common obstruc- 
tions to the advance of truth. Very often this diffi- 
culty can be overcome by showing that the party Is 
mistaken as to the effect of the proposed measure 
upon his interests. Fortunately in matters of govern- 
ment a large majority of the people have interests on 
the same side and the real task is to make this plain. 
Where there is a real opposing interest, argument is 
of little use unless it can be shown that the public wel- 
fare outweighs the personal interest — that is, that a 
public interest is large enough to swallow up the in- 
terest that is private and personal. 

Whenever one refuses to admit such a self-evident 
truth, for instance, as that it is wrong to steal, don't 
argue with him — search him; the reason may be found 
in his pocket. 

Next to clearness of statement, I would put con- 
ciseness — the condensing of much into a few words. 
This is a great asset to a speaker. The moulder of 
public opinion does not manufacture opinion ; he sim- 
ply puts it into form so that it can be remembered and 
repeated ; just as my father used bullet-moulds to make 
bullets when he was about to go squirrel hunting. The 
moulds did not create the lead, they simply put it into 
effective form. Jefferson was the greatest moulder of 
public opinion in the early days of this country. He 
did not create Democratic sentiment; he simply took 



256 THE SPOKEN WOED 

the aspirations that had nestled in the hearts of men 
from time immemorial and put them into appropriate 
and epigrammatic language, so that the nation thought 
his thoughts after him, as the world is now doing. 
The proverbs of Solomon are priceless for the same 
reason; they are full of wisdom — ^wisdom so ex- 
pressed that it can be easily comprehended. 

When I was a boy my father would call me in from 
work a little before noon, read to me from Proverbs 
and comment on the sayings of the Wise Man. After 
his death (when I was twenty) I recalled his fondness 
for Proverbs and read the thirty-one chapters through 
each month for a year. I was increasingly impressed 
with their beauty and strength. I have used many of 
them in speeches. The one I have most frequently 
used in the advocacy of reforms reads: "A prudent 
man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself; but the 
simple pass on, and are punished." 

I have often used a story to illustrate how much can 
be said in a few words. A man said to another, " Do 
you drink?" The man to whom the question was 
addressed, replied rather indignantly, " That is my 
business, sir." "Have you any other business?" 
asked the first man. The story is not only valuable as 
an illustration of brevity but it has a moral side; if a 
man drinks much he soon has no other business. 

In this connection I will speak of the words to be 
employed. Our use of big words increases from in- 
fancy to the day of graduation. I think it is safe to 
say that with nearly all of us the maximum is reached 
on the day when we leave school. We use more big 



THE SPOKEN WOED 26T 

words that day than we have ever used before or will 
ever use again. When we go from college into every- 
day life and begin to deal with our fellowmen we drop 
the big words because we are more interested in mak- 
ing people understand us than we are in parading our 
learning. The more earnest one is the smaller the 
words used. If a young man used big words to as- 
sure his sweetheart of his affection she would never 
understand him, but the word love has but one sylla- 
ble, just as the words life, faith, hope, home, food, 
and work are one-syllable words. Remember that 
nearl)/ every audience is made up of people who differ 
in the amount of book learning they have received. If 
you speak only to those best educated you will speak 
over the heads of those less educated. A story is told 
on a great scientist who made two holes in the back 
fence and showed them to his wife, explaining that 
the big hole was for the cat and the small hole for 
the kitten. " But cannot the kitten go through the 
same hole as the cat?'' inquired his wife. If you 
use little words you can reach not only the least learned, 
but the most learned as well. 

Illustration is one of the most potent forms of argu- 
ment; we understand new things by comparing them 
with what we know. Christ was a master of illustra- 
tions — ^the master. No one of whom history tells us 
has ever used the illustration as effectively as He. 
He took the objects of every-day life and made them 
mirrors which reflected truth. His parables give us a 
wide range of illustration — ^the Sower going forth to 
sow, the Wheat and the Tares, the Prodigal Son, the 



258 THE SPOKEN WOED 

Wise and Foolish Virgins — in fact, all the illustrations 
that He used might be cited to prove the power of this 
form of argument. 

The question has been used throughout history; at 
every great crisis the orators of the day have used the 
question form of argument. Its strength depends 
upon the completeness with which the speaker includes 
all of the essentials involved in summing up the situa- 
tion. The greatest question ever presented as an argu- 
ment was that in which Christ concentrated attention 
upon the value of the soul. No one will ever place a 
higher estimate upon the soul than Christ did when 
He asked, '' What shall it profit a man if he shall gain 
the whole world and lose his own soul ? " No greater 
question was ever asked, or can be asked. (See Lec- 
ture, '' The Value of the Soul") 

Courage is the last attribute to which I shall invite 
your attention. The speaker must possess moral cour- 
age, and to possess it he must have faith. 

Faith exerts a controlling influence over our lives. 
If It is argued that works are more important than 
faith, I reply that faith comes first, works afterward. 
Until one believes, he does not act, and in accordance 
with his faith, so will be his deeds. 

Abraham, called of God, went forth in faith to 
establish a race and a religion. It was faith that led 
Columbus to discover America, and faith again that 
conducted the early settlers to Jamestown, the Dutch 
to New York and the Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock. 
Faith has led the pioneer across deserts and through 
trackless forests, and faith has brought others in his 



THE SPOKEN WOED 259 

footsteps to lay in our land the foundations of a civi- 
lization the highest that the world has known. 

I might draw an illustration from the life of each 
one of you. You have faith in education, and that 
faith is behind your study ; you have faith in this in- 
stitution, and that faith brought you here; your par- 
ents and friends have had faith in you and have 
helped you to your present position. And back of all 
these manifestations of faith is your faith in God, in 
His Word and in His Son. We are told that without 
faith it is impossible to please God, and I may add that 
without faith it is impossible to meet the expectations 
of those who are most interested in you. Let me pre- 
sent this subject under four heads: 

First — You must have faith in yourselves. Not that 
you should carry confidence in yourselves to the point 
of displaying egotism, and yet, egotism is not the worst 
possible fault. My father was wont to say that if 
a man had the big head, you could whittle it down, 
but that if he had the little head, there was no hope 
for him. If you have the big head others will help 
you to reduce it, but if you have the little head, they 
cannot help you. You must believe that you can do 
things or you will not undertake them. Those who 
lack faith attempt nothing and therefore cannot pos- 
sibly succeed ; those with great faith attempt the seem- 
ingly impossible and by attempting prove what man 
can do. 

But you cannot have faith in yourselves unless you 
are conscious that you are prepared for your work. 
If one is feeble in body, he cannot have the confidence 



260 THE SPOKEN WOED 

in his physical strength that the athlete has, and, as 
physical strength is necessary, one is justified in de- 
voting to exercise and to the strengthening of the 
body such time as may be necessary. 

Intellectual training is also necessary, and more 
necessary than it used to be. When but few had the 
advantages of a college education, the lack of such 
advantages was not so apparent. Now wh^n so many 
of the ministers, lawyers, physicians, journalists, and 
even business men, are college graduates, one cannot 
afiford to be without the best possible intellectual 
preparation. When one comes into competition with 
his fellows, he soon recognizes his own intellectual 
superiority, equality or inferiority as compared with 
others. In China they have a very interesting bird 
contest. The singing lark is the most popular bird 
there, and as you go along the streets of a Chinese city 
you see Chinamen out airing their birds. These sing- 
ing larks are entered in contests, and the contests are 
decided by the birds themselves. If, for instance, a 
dozen are entered, they all begin to sing lustily, but as 
they sing, one after another recogizes that it is out- 
classed and gets down oflF its perch, puts its head under 
its wing and will not sing any more. At last there is 
just one bird left singing, and it sings with enthusiasm 
as if it recognized its victory. 

So it IS in all intellectual contests. Put twenty men 
in a room and let them discuss any important question. 
At first all will take part in the discussion, but as the 
discussion proceeds, one after another drops out until 
finally two are left in debate, one on one side and one 



THE SPOKEN WOED 261 

on the other. The rest are content to have their ideas 
presented by those who can present them best. If you 
are going to have faith, therefore, in yourselves, you 
must be prepared to meet your competitors upon an 
equal plane; if you are prepared, they will be con- 
scious of it as well as you. 

A high purpose is also a necessary part of your 
preparation. You cannot afford to put a low purpose 
in competition with a high one. If you go out to 
work from a purely selfish standpoint, you will be 
ashamed to stand in the presence of those who have 
higher aims and nobler ambitions. Have faith in 
yourselves, but to have faith you must be prepared 
for your work, and this preparation must be moral 
and intellectual as well as physical. The preacher 
should be the boldest of men because of the unselfish 
character of his work. 

Second: Have faith in mankind. The great fault 
of our scholarship is that it is not sufficiently sympa- 
thetic. It holds itself aloof from the struggling 
masses. It is too often cold and cynical. It is better 
to trust your fellowmen and be occasionally deceived 
than to be distrustful and live alone. Mankind de- 
serves to be trusted. There is something good in every 
one, and that good responds to sympathy. If you 
speak to the multitude and they do not respond, do 
not despise them, but rather examine what you have 
said. If you speak from your heart, you will speak 
to their hearts, and they can tell very quickly whether 
you are interested in them or simply in yourself. The 
heart of mankind is sound ; the sense of justice is uni- 



262 THE SPOKEN WOED 

versal. Trust it, appeal to it, do not violate it. Peo- 
ple differ in race characteristics, in national traditions, 
in language, in ideas of government, and in forms of 
religion, but at the heart they are very much alike. 
I fear the plutocracy of wealth ; I respect the aristoc- 
racy of learning; but I thank God for the democracy of 
the heart. You must love if you would be loved. 
" They loved him because he first loved them " — this 
is the verdict pronounced where m^en have unselfishly 
laboured for the welfare of the whole people. Link 
yourselves in sympathy with your fellowmen; mingle 
with them; know them and you will trust them and 
they will trust you. If you are stronger than others, 
bear heavier loads; if you are more capable than 
others, show it by your willingness to perform a 
larger service. 

Third: If you are going to accomplish anything in 
this country, you must have faith in your form of 
government, and there is every reason why you should 
have faith in it. It is the best form of government 
ever conceived by the mind of man, and it is spread- 
ing throughout the world. It is best, not because it is 
perfect, but because it can be made as perfect as the 
people deserve to have. It is a people's government, 
and it reflects the virtue and intelligence of the peo- 
ple. As the people make progress in virtue and in- 
telligence, the government ought to approach more 
and more nearly to perfection. It will never, of 
course, be entirely free from faults, because it must 
be administered by human beings, and imperfection is 
to be expected in the work of human hands. 



THE SPOKEN WOED 263 

Jefferson said a century ago that there were nat- 
urally two parties in every country, one which drew 
to itself those who trusted the people, the other which 
as naturally drew to itself those who distrusted the 
people. That was true when Jefferson said it, and it 
is true to-day. In every country there are those who 
are seeking to enlarge the participation of the people 
in government, and that group is growing. In every 
country there are those who are endeavouring to ob- 
struct each step toward popular government, and that 
group is diminishing. In this country the tendency is 
constantly toward more popular government, and 
every effort which has for its object the bringing of 
the government into closer touch with the people is 
sure of ultimate triumph. 

Our form of government is good. Call it a democ- 
racy if you are a democrat, or a republic if you are 
a republican, but help to make it a government of the 
people, by the people, and for the people. A democ- 
racy is wiser than an aristocracy because a democ- 
racy can draw from the wisdom of the people, and all 
of the people know more than any part of the people. 
A democracy is stronger than a monarchy, because, 
as the historian, Bancroft, has said: *' It dares to dis- 
card the implements of terror and build its citadel in 
the hearts of men." And a democracy is the most 
just form of government because it is built upon the 
doctrine that men are created equal, that governments 
are instituted to protect the inalienable rights of the 
people and that governments derive their just powers 
from the consent of the governed. 



264 THE SPOKEN WORD 

We know that a grain of wheat planted In the 
ground will, under the influence of the sunshine and 
rain, send forth a blade, and then a stalk, and then the 
full head, because there is behind the grain of wheat 
a force irresistible and constantly at work. There is 
behind moral and political truth a force equally irre- 
sistible and always operating, and just as w^e may ex- 
pect the harvest in due season, w-e may be sure of the 
triumph of these eternal forces that make for man's 
uplifting. Have faith in your form of government, 
for it rests upon a growing idea, and if you will but 
attach yourself to that idea, you will grow with it. 

Fourth, the subject presents itself in another aspect. 
You must not only have faith in yourselves, in hu- 
manity and in the form of government under which 
we live, but if you would do a great work, you must 
have faith in God. I am not a preacher; I am but a 
la}TTian; yet, I am not willing that the minister shall 
monopolize the blessings of Christianity, and I do 
not know of any moral precept binding upon the 
preacher behind the pulpit that is not binding upon 
the Christian and whose acceptance would not be help- 
ful to every one. I am not speaking from the min- 
ister's standpoint but from the observation of ever}^- 
day life w^hen I say that there is a wide difference be- 
tween the desire to live so that men will applaud you 
and the desire to live so that God will be satisfied with 
you. Man needs the inner strength that comes from 
faith in God and belief in His constant presence. 

Man needs faith in God, therefore, to strengthen 
him in his hours of trial, and he needs it to give him 



THE SPOKEN WOED 266 

courage to do the work of life. How can one fight 
for a principle unless he believes in the triumph of 
right ? How can he believe in the triumph of the right 
if he does not believe that God stands back of the 
truth and that God is able to bring victory to His side ? 
He knows not whether he is to live for the truth or to 
die for it, but if he has the faith he ought to have, he 
is as ready to die for it as to live for it. 

Faith will not only give you strength when you 
fight for righteousness, but your faith will bring dis- 
may to your enemies. There is power in the presence 
of an honest man who does right because it is right and 
dares to do the right in the face of all opposition. 
That is true to-day, and has been true through all his- 
tory. 

If your preparation is complete so that you are con- 
scious of your ability to do great things; if you have 
faith in your f ellowmen and become a colabourer with 
them in the raising of the general level of society; if 
you have faith in our form of government and seek to 
purge it of its imperfections so as to make it more and 
more acceptable to our own people and to the oppressed 
of other nations ; and if, in addition, you have faith in 
God and in the triumph of the right, no one can set 
limits to your achievements. This is the greatest of 
all ages in which to live. The railroads and the tele- 
graph wires have brought the comers of the earth close 
together, and it is easier to-day for one to be helpful 
to the whole world than It was a few centuries ago to 
be helpful to the inhabitants of a single valley. This 
is the age of great opportunity and of great respon- 



266 THE SPOKEN WOED 

sibility. Let your faith be large, and let this large 
faith inspire you to perform a large service. 

Because the preacher has consecrated himself to 
God's service and seeks divine guidance from the Bible 
and through prayer, he is able to speak with absolute 
confidence. His trust is liie measure of his strength; 
because he knows what Christ has done for him he 
knows what Christ can do for others. His own ex- 
perience is the foundation of his trust in the Gospel 
that he preaches. Because a miracle was wrought in 
his own life he knows that the day of miracles is not 
past ; because one heart has been regenerated he knows 
that all hearts can be, and that Christ, through His 
power to transform the life of each individual, can 
transform a world. 

I beg you to prepare yourselves to proclaim the 
Word of God by voice as well as with pen. You have 
a mighty message for a waiting world — a message 
worthy of all your powers of heart and mind and 
tongue. 



PROBLEMS OF TODAY 



GEORGE McCREADY PRICE, MA. 

Poisoning Democracy 

A Study of the Present-Day Socialism. $1.25 

Professor Price shows that the conditions prevailing 
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ALBERT CLARKE WYCROFF 

The Non-Sense of Christian Science 

$1.75 

A deadly, withering attack on Christian Science en- 
filading its every position. Mr. Wycvoff's searching an- 
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it is unanswerable. 

ALLEN W. JOHNSTON 



The Roman Catholic Bible and the 
Roman Catholic Church 

Foreword by David J. Burrell, D.D. $1.25 

A book that examines the cardinal doctrines as taught 
by the Church of Rome, such as the Invocation of 
Saints, Purgatory, Indulgences, Worship of Mary, the 
Holy Eucharist, etc. etc., and indicates the dissimilarity 
between this body of teaching and Holy Writ. 

New Editions. 

7. M. HALDEMAN 

Can the Dead Communicate with the 
Living? $1.25 

^ "Needless to say, Dr. Haldeman holds no brief for Spir- 
itism. A book that is awakening everyone to the peril of 
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JAMES M. GRAY, D. D. 

Spiritism and the Fallen 
Angels 

Prom a Biblical Viewpoint. 

$1.25 

"Beginning with a review of the 
present-day revival of Spiritism and 
how to meet it. Dr. Gray harks back 
to origins, the baleful influence of 
the cult from the earliest recorded 
history of the human race." 

S. S. Times. 




SPIRITISM 

ANDTH£ 

FALLEN ANCELS 



By JAMES M CRAV. D. & 



PRAYER AND DEVOTIONAL 



U. L, WILLETT and C. C. MORRISON 

The Daily Altar 

An Aid to Private Devotion and Family 

Worship. $1.50 

A book that has come for just such a time as this. 
Some churches report that they are growing a new re- 
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F. B. MEYER 

Daily Devotional Commentary 

Notes on Every Chapter Throughout the 
Bible. Five Volumes, each 75c. The Set, $3.75 

"The author has selected from each chapter of the 
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E. M. BOUNDS 

Heaven 

A Place, A City, A Home. 

$1.25 

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EDWARD LEIGH PELL Author of ''Secrets of 

-^-— —— ^-— — — — — Sunday School Teaching" 

What Did Jesus Really Teach About 
Prayer? $1.50 

Dr. Pell's new book is a helpful inquiry into the ques- 
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lating to spiritual life and snrowth, is the great Pattern 
for us alL 



BIBLE STUDY 



P, WHITWELL WILSON 

Author of the "Christ We Forget'* 

The Vision We Forget 

A Layman's Reading of 
the Book of Revelation. 

$2.00 

"Certainly this is the most en- 
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C. E, World, 

/. J. ROSS 




\ 



A REVELATION OFnc\ 
BOOK OF REVUj^-nON 



THE VISION 
WE FORGET 

Bj P WHrrWEU WH-WM 









Aaia Wn« aiXST VI FMKZr 



The author of 
The Kingdom in Mystery, 



Thinking Through the New Testament 

An Outline Study of Every Book In the 
New Testament. $1.75 

A course of study in the books of the New Testament. 
Dr. Ross has prepared a volume which can be used by 
the individual student as well as by study groups. 

FREDERIC B. OXTOBY 

Making the Bible Real 

Introductory Studies in the Bible. $1.00 

In simple, direct language. Dr. Oxtoby brings his 
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PHILIP MAURO Author of "The Number of Man** 

Bringing Back the King 

Another Volume on the Kingdom. $1.00 

Continuing his study of the Kingdom, the author in 
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PHILIP MAURO 

Our Liberty in Christ 

A Study in Galatians. $1.25 

An exposition of Galatians from the standpoint that 
its main theme is "the Liberty wherewith Christ has 
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ing of the remarkable "allegory" in Chapter IV. 



WORK AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE 




Children 
Gospel 

StorV'Sermons 



1 



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HUGH T. KERR 

ChUdren's Gospel Story- 
Sermons 

A New Volume of Talks 
to the Young. $1.25 

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8. D, CHAMBERS Author of "If I Were You," 

To Be or Not To Be 

Brief Talks wdth Children and Young Folks. 

$1.25 

In Mr, Chambers* new volume of "Five Minute Talks" 
he aims at helping the children to right decisions — to 
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good and bad qualities, calculated to either make or mar 
their characters and lives. A useful series, quite abova 
the ordinary. 

W, RUSSELL BOWIE 

Rector St. PavX's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Va. 
Author of "The Children*s Year,** etc. 

Sunny Windows 

and Other Sermons for Children. $1.25 

"Every pastor has the rich opportunity of speaking to 
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Christian Advocate. 

Author of 
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WADE a SMITH 



"Say, FeUowsr' 

Chummy Talks with Young Men about the 

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EVANGELISTIC WORK 




EVANCtLISTlC 
PRt ACHING 





»» ottMo V o«va 





OZORA S. DAVIS 

President 
Chicago Theological Seminary 

Evangelistic Preaching 

With Sermon Outlines and 
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Sec, The National Federated Ei>angelistic Committee 

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Herald and Presbyter. 

FREDERICK L. FAGLEY 

Executive Secretary Commission on Evangelism 
Congregation Churches* 

Parish Evangelism 

An Outline of a Year's Program. $1.00 

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/. W. PORTER 

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SELF-HELP 



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A Study in the True Values of Existence $1.25 

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BIOGRAPHY, etc. 



FREDERICK LYNCH 



Educational Secretary of 
The Church Peace Union 



Personal Recollections of Andrew 
Carnegie 



$1.50 



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"CharUe" Alexander 

A Study in Personality. $1.00 

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A Book of Remembrance 

Selections from the writings of Dr. David 
Gregg. Compiled by Frank Dilnot. $2.00 



A book of rare stimulus and devotional charm over- 
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!r„',n,f^i!)i!^I OF CONGRESS 




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